New Delhi: The Forward Bloc on Friday threatened to pull out from the West Bengal Left Front government for its decision to renew the business licence of a German retail giant.
The party-controlled State Marketing Board had decided not to give a renewal letter to Metro Cash & Carry's outlet in Kolkata, but Chief Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee overruled the board.
The company has invested Rs 140 crore and employs 350 people at its Kolkata store, but the Forward Bloc claims retail traders would suffer if the firm does business in the state.
Angry at Bhattacharjee’s decision, the Forward Bloc on Friday threatened that all its four ministers would resign if the renewal letter was not withdrawn immediately.
''We have unanimously decided that our Ministers will have no option but to resign if the renewal letter is not withdrawn,'' said Forward Bloc state secretary Ashok Ghosh after a meeting of the party's state committee meeting.
''We have unanimously decided that our ministers will have no option but to resign if the renewal letter is not withdrawn.”
''The CPI-M and Forward Bloc were supposed to sit for bipartite talks on this issue, but suddenly Chief Secretary Amit Kiran Deb under the instruction of Mr Bhattacharjee issued a letter to our party's marketing board chairman Naren Chatterjee, asking for issuing licence to the German firm by September 30,'' Ghosh said.
''We were surprised by the sudden decision of the Chief Minister, who categorically stated that he would take the decision himself. But we are not bound by his decision,'' he said.
''We want to know from Left Front chairman Biman Bose whether the CPI-M is associated with this renewal of licence. How the Chief Minister can issue the letter without sitting for the bipartite talks. Even a Left Front meeting was not called to discuss over the issue. Until and unless this letter is withdrawn, we will not sit for any talks further.''
Metro Cash and Carry on Thursday served a 100-hour notice on the state government to sort out the licence issue.
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