Not important who becomes PM, defeating BJP is: Mamata

Mumbai: The question is not who is projected as the Prime Minister, the goal is to oust the BJP to save democracy, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee, who is on a tour of Mumbai, said on Wednesday afternoon while interacting with members of the civil society. "Let's be united, give justice to people and save our country and democracy," she added.

Later she met NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and called for fighting the BJP unitedly while taking barely veiled swipes at the Congress leadership.

While Banerjee made remarks like "there is no UPA now" and one cannot achieve anything by staying abroad "most of the time", Pawar said leadership was not an issue at present and all like-minded parties were welcome to join the fight against the BJP.

"We have to provide a collective leadership platform and a strong alternative to BJP... There is no issue of leadership as such now. It is a secondary issue," Pawar said. "One cannot fight fascism alone. We have to fight unitedly. Those who are willing to fight should come together. What can (one) do if there is no contest," Banerjee said.

When asked if she wanted Pawar to be the chairperson of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Banerjee, who was accompanied by TMC national general-secretary Abhishek Banerjee, she said: "There is no UPA now."

Tweeting photos of the meeting, Pawar posted: "Pleased to meet Hon'ble CM of West Bengal Smt @MamataOfficial at my Mumbai residence.

We Discussed various issues. We agreed upon the need to strengthen the collective efforts and commitment towards safeguarding democratic values and ensuring the betterment of our people".

If all regional parties come together, it would be easy to defeat the BJP, Banerjee had earlier said while interacting with civil society members, including politicians, actors and judges. "We want to say 'BJP hatao, desh bachao'," she said. Stating that her party will not be contesting the UP Assembly polls, the TMC supremo said: "I am not contesting the UP elections." She added that her party will work for all sections of society without bias, but the focus will be on poor people.

During the interaction programme, calling BJP a "cruel and undemocratic party", the TMC chief and Bengal Chief Minister, cited the "victimisation" of megastar Shah Rukh Khan in Mumbai.

"Mahesh ji (film director Mahesh Bhatt) has been victimised, Shah Rukh Khan has also been victimised. If we have to win, we have to fight and speak out wherever we can," added Banerjee.

Replying to a question raised by the audience as to who will become the Prime Minister at the YB Chavan Centre at Nariman Point, Banerjee said: "The situation will decide who will become the Prime Minister. The first thing we need to do is bowl out the BJP." Banerjee also raised the 'Khela Hobe' slogan in Mumbai.

She added: "The country is being attacked by an extreme rightist party. To save the country, a united fight should be put up against the BJP. We cannot allow the saffron brigade to win."

Taking a dig at the Congress, Banerjee stated that she had suggested to the Congress that an advisory council comprising prominent personalities from civil society be set up to give a direction to the Opposition, but rued that the plan did not materialise.

"I had suggested to the Congress that there should be an advisory council comprising prominent personalities from the civil society to give a direction to the Opposition, but in vain," she said.

"Continuous endeavour is necessary in politics. You can't be abroad most of the time," she said in a veiled dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

Reiterating her claim that the BJP was using the central agencies to fulfil their agenda, Banerjee said: "They have often been used in the most vindictive way. The BJP is letting loose the central agencies like the CBI, ED, Income Tax against those who have raised voices against the saffron party." She also stated that there were some anti-people laws and these need to be repealed.

She further stated that the Bengal government was giving medical treatment free in Bengal. Women have been looked after and Lakshmir Bhandar is another step in this regard. Students have been given a loan maximum upto Rs 10 lakh and girls are being given Rs 25,000 to carry on with their higher studies.

Later Banerjee tweeted: "As a part of my Mumbai visit, today I met with several prominent members from the civil society. I celebrate their unparalleled contribution towards taking our society ahead and remain eternally grateful to them!"

Her interaction programme with members of the civil society was attended by former High Court judges Shafi Parkar and Abhay Thipse, Tushar Gandhi, activists Teesta Setalvad and Medha Patkar, former Congress leader Sanjay Jha, Sudheendra Kulkarni, Shatrughan Sinha, author Shobhaa De and a fair-sized contingent from Bollywood, including Swara Bhaskar, Rahul Bose and Konkona Sen Sharma.

After the programme, Swara Bhaskar said: "The game is over. Didi has shown the way."