... and at the same time continue creating troubles for it by raising her pet issues
Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee caused a flutter in the Parliament House on Monday as she met Lok Speaker Meira Kumar, prime minister Manmohan Singh and then went to the Central Hall, which serves as an informal meeting place for MPs, former MPs and journalists, with senior MPs from her party forming an entourage.
When journalists tried to get something out of Banerjee as she walked out of the PM’s chamber, all that she would say about outgoing railway minister Dinesh Trivedi was, “The matter is between the prime minister and the President.”
TMC member Kalyan Banerjee taunted CPM leader in the House, Basudeb Acharia, that the amendments to the motion of thanks to the President’s address moved by Acharia were clubbed with those of the BJP, implying that the communists were hobnobbing with the right-wing party. It became clear then that the TMC had decided to stay with the UPA. But when it came to voting and division, the TMC members trooped out along with members of the BSP.
It seems that Banerjee and her TMC want to stay with the Congress but also create troubles for the government. It is not a case of reconciling differences, rather one of pushing their agenda till it reaches a breaking point. Banerjee is in no mood to make the coalition work.
Trivedi tried to stay with the TMC team, sitting with the party’s members for a while and taking directions from party leader in the House, Sudeep Bandopadhyay. Then he dutifully walked out along with the other TMC members.
A senior Congress MP said it would be impossible to work with the demanding Banerjee and that it would be necessary for the Congress to show the TMC the door. There was no dinner or meeting of the TMC MPs at the house of Mukul Roy on Monday evening as planned because an MLA of the party has passed away.
A Trinamool MP said the moment of confrontation has passed and there is a sense of relief in the party. But he made it clear that Banerjee has reservations about issues like FDI in retail, NCTC and she would continue to air them with as much emphasis as she has done so far.
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