Mamata's exit from UPA: Reactions say it all

While the Congress has not lost all hopes on ties with Trinamool Congress which announced the decision to withdraw from UPA, other parties like Samajwadi Party and Janata Dal-United blamed the government for putting itself in an embarrassing position.

Shortly after Mamata's announcement, Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told nedia persons in New Delhi, "We have always considered Trinamool Congress our valuable ally. Even after all that Mamata Banerjee has said, we still consider her our valuable ally till a final result comes out."

Dwivedi said Congress party "will definitely discuss the issues raised by Banerjee with the government".

Congress sources said party President Sonia Gandhi is expected to discuss with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh very soon the issues raised by Mamata.

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Complimenting Banerjee for the 'bold stand' her party has taken, the Bharatiya Janata Party claimed that the downfall of the central government has started and raised questions on its stability.

"The beginning of the downfall of the UPA government has started. Practically, it is now a Congress government. After the withdrawal of support by Trinamool Congress, a serious question mark is there on the stability of this government," BJP chief spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.

"We need to applaud and compliment Mamataji for taking such a bold stand, purely in the interest of the people of the country," he said.

The BJP leader said the way Mamata and her TMC collegues were forced to take this decision, it "amply indicates the supreme arrogance" of Congress.

"It is not in the DNA of Congress to have a dialogue and trust the allies and that we are seeing and noticing with repeated regularity. The sheer arrogance that 'we can rule and others have to follow' is the biggest folly of the central government, which is now a Congress government."

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Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar hailed his West Bengal counterpart's decision to withdraw support of TMC to the UPA government.

"Yeh swagat yogya kadam hai (it is welcome step)," Kumar said in Betiah.

Earlier in the day, Kumar had described as internal matter TMC's threat to review support to the UPA government on the FDI in retail, diesel price hike and subsidised LPG cylinders.

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The Communist Party of India asked the government to prove its majority after the Trinamool Congress announced its decision.

"Since 19 members have moved away from the government, according to all principles of parliamentary democracy, the government should prove its majority on the floor of the House," CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta said.

Communist Party of India-Marxist said that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's decision vindicated the call of the Left Front for a bandh on September 20.

"The justification of our call for a state-wide bandh in West Bengal on September 20 demanding withdrawal of hike in diesel price, LPG cap and FDI entry in retail, is quite clear from Mamata Banerjee's decision (to pull out of UPA)," CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose said.

"The chief minister should try to understand that we have been constrained to call the bandh on anti-people issues," he said.

Bose, who is also the Left Front chairman, said that he expected the state government would not oppose the September 20 shutdown.

Samajwadi Party, a key outside supporter of UPA, termed the Trinamool Congress's decision as a "serious" issue and accused the Congress-led government's attitude of being responsible for the situation.

"The Congress government is behaving as if it enjoys complete majority. It is taking decisions without consulting alliees," SP General Secretary Ram Gopal Yadav told media persons in Lucknow.

He said Banerjee was "forced" to pull out as she did not like the "style of functioning of the government".

Asked about the stand of his party following TMC's move, he said SP's relationship with UPA is independent of any other ally.

"Our decision will be independent. We will take a call after the September 20 bandh against FDI in retail and diesel price hike," he said.

Meanwhile, SP supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav is in New Delhi on Tuesday night.