Congress at odds with Trinamool, admits Pranab

Union Finance Minister and senior Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee on Friday said that AICC general secretary Shakeel Ahmed had made clear the party's stand over its differences with ally Trinamool Congress on the issue of renaming Indira Bhavan.

"Shakeel Ahmed is the AICC general secretary in-charge of West Bengal. He has said what he had to on the Indira Bhavan issue, that is enough," Mukherjee told newspersons in Kolkata when asked to comment on the spat between the allies over the Indira Bhavan issue.

Ahmed on Friday said in New Delhi that Mamata was a 'valued ally' and stressed that no party leader ever said that Congress would dump Trinamool Congress after the Uttar Pradesh elections.

The AICC has asked its leaders in West Bengal not to use harsh words against Trinamool workers and also appealed to workers from the latter to reciprocate.

Home Minister P Chidambaram also said in New Delhi that the government would consult all UPA allies, including Trinamool Congress, to ensure that crucial bills are passed.

Mukherjee also parried comment on the recent incidents of violence in colleges, saying, "It is the state government's matter. The state government will say if it has anything to say, I have nothing to say."