'Left not threatened by Trinamool Congress's move to contest in UP'

Senior CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta on Tuesday said the Left parties do not feel threatened by the reported move of Trinamool Congress to field candidates in states other than West Bengal.

"If Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress becomes a national party, why should I be jealous of her? Left parties do not feel threatened. Left has its roots in the distress of the common people, in the inherent right of the people to oppose and protest," he told reporters in Hyderabad.

"Left parties, by mobilizing broader section of the democratic forces, will be in the centre of the battle against privatization, poverty. We are not afraid of anybody. This is the Left. This is not heroism," he said.

The Trinamool Congress has reportedly decided to contest the forthcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.