The postponement of the government's policy comes after opposition parties chiefly the right-of-center Bharatiya Janata Party and the leftist Communist Party of India blocked any business from being done in Parliament in protest against the move.

WSJ: India Shelves Retail Reforms

Some political parties such as the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam are still against the bill, though the government could get it easily passed with support from the BJP.

WSJ: Land Bill Likely to Get Parliament Nod

Under a coalition of leftists led by his own Communist Party of India (Marxist), which has won seven consecutive elections, West Bengal was previously best known for industrial action, capital flight and the immiseration of its capital, Calcutta, recently renamed Kolkata.

ECONOMIST: Face value: The capitalist communist | The

But before that, he switches on the television to watch himself on a private channel viciously attacking the Communist Party of India (Marxist), commonly known as the CPM, which has ruled West Bengal for so long that its ways have seeped into the genetic code of the state.

FORBES: Magazine Article

In mid-December Prakash Karat, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)--the largest element in the Left Front issued an ultimatum to the government demanding that it withdraw from negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency by the end of December or face an early general election (a poll is not due until May 2009).

ECONOMIST: Exit polls point to a narrow BJP victory in Gujarat