Will resign if proved I dialled Shah over TMC’s nat’l status, says Mamata

Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she would step down if it is proved that she dialled Union Home minister Amit Shah after the Trinamool lost its national party status.

Banerjee further stated that the BJP will not be able to get more than 200 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Reiterating that her party’s name will remain the All India Trinamool Congress, Banerjee said: “I will resign if it is proven that I called up Amit Shah over TMC’s national party status,” she said addressing a press conference at Nabanna refuting the claim made by Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari that she had dialled Shah.

Adhikari on Tuesday alleged that Banerjee had called Shah after the Election Commission revoked TMC’s national party status urging him to repeal the decision.

“It has been the norm to review the national party status of all parties after 10 years. That would mean the next review should have been in 2026. But they did it in 2019. As they (the BJP) are in power at the Centre they are making the Election Commission act at their behest. My party’s name will remain the ‘All India Trinamool Congress’. If the BJP has any problem, they can approach the Election Commission and we will approach the common people,” she maintained.

The Election Commission of India withdrew the national party status of the TMC, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) last week. She argued that there are a number of political parties that do not have MPs and MLAs as much as TMC but continue to enjoy the national party status. “It is only because I am opposing them, they have revoked our national party status,” she remarked.

Banerjee made it clear that there is not even an iota of truth in Adhikari’s assertions and said she is shocked at the extent of canards that the saffron party is attempting to spread with an attempt of creating a false narrative and perception about Trinamool. Banerjee, however, did not take the name of Adhikari during her press interaction.

She claimed that the BJP will not be able to win over 200 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Accusing the saffron party of changing the country’s history and attempting to bulldoze the Constitution and spoiling the democratic system, she said: “They should remember that power is temporary. Leaders may come and they may go, but democracy and the Constitution will continue forever. The Constitution cannot be bulldozed like this.”

When asked about the intensifying efforts by Opposition parties to team up against the BJP ahead of next year’s national elections, the TMC chairperson said: “Sometimes silence is golden. Don’t think the Opposition is not sitting together. We are all maintaining good relations with each other. When the time comes, all will unite like a tornado. All of us are united and we want a united India.” Banerjee, who has been vocal about the manipulation of EVM machines, said that her party will demand more VVPAT machines during the Lok Sabha elections.

“All Opposition parties will sit together and decide as it has become the practice of BJP to win elections through the power of money,” she said. The Trinamool chief carefully responded to a query on the Supreme Court case over legalising same-sex marriage. “I will not say anything because the matter is sub-judice. I love people who love others. This matter is sensitive and I have to see the pulse of the people. I will have to see the order of the court and then we can form an opinion,” she said.