BJP scotches speculation of tacit understanding with TMC

 The BJP on Monday sought to scotch speculation of its tacit understanding with the Trinamool Congress, saying the cordial relationship between the Centre and the state government should not be misunderstood as bonhomie.

"As far as Mamata Banerjee, TMC and BJP are concerned, two things need to be understood. BJP is opposed to the TMC the same way as it was opposed to it in the past. We are against the way TMC government functions," BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra told reporters here.

Patra said that the central government believed in federalism and that while dealing with states it should not behave in a bigbrotherly way. "It believes in helping states, unlike the previous government which behaved in a stepmotherly way with states which are not ruled by the same party," he said. He, however, pointed out that this did not mean they would not fight politically.

The CPI-M and the Congress had alleged that Mamata's sharing of dais with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Burnpur during his visit to West Bengal was the result of an understanding between the BJP and the TMC and that CBI would go slow on the Saradha scam probe and the latter would help BJP in passing bills in the Rajya Sabha. Asked about the allegation of sluggish CBI and ED probe into the Saradha scam, Patra said, "Gone are the days when the government interfered in the work of the CBI and the ED. Today they are independent agencies."

"The Congress had been using the CBI as a stick to derive from the Opposition what it couldn't otherwise. This government doesn't beleive in this. We believe in the independence of CBI and ED," he said.