Now, Mamata may join secular front but won’t cede home turf
19 Nov 2014 5:36 AM IST
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is ready to ‘support’ any coalition, including Left, to counter the nationwide spread of BJP. She will soon have a ‘political meeting’ with Janata Dal (United) chief Sharad Yadav in Kolkata in this regard. Yadav has emerged as the main interlocutor for the anti-BJP front.
‘I had a word with him yesterday in Delhi and he (Yadav) said that he wanted to have a discussion with me in Kolkata. I am always ready for talks with my political colleagues for the greater interest of the country,’ she said on Tuesday, while adding that in Bengal her party will fight alone in coming elections and ruling out any coalition with any political parties. Her statement on ‘fighting alone’ came when she was asked whether her party was worried over BJP gaining popularity in Bengal. ‘How can you say that they are rising in Bengal with meager seats in hand? We fought for more than 35-years and it is not an easy game. I have full faith in my people,’ she said.
On the context of political realignment with Congress, if they take the lead in forming a Federal or Secular Front to combat the communal forces in the country, she said, ‘Let them decide or form the platform, then we will decide. Our party is always there for the greater interest of the country, for the peaceful situation of the country, for the stability of the country. I will be with them.’
‘It’s better late than never for such platform,’ she added. Earlier, on 18 September 2012, Banerjee had walked out of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government over diesel price hike, LPG cap and FDI issues. After two years of severing ties, Banerjee said she is willing to join a coalition that includes her arch rival, the Left, if the Congress takes the initiative to form the group.
Banerjee, who is presently in the national capital to attend a conference to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister and Congressman Jawaharlal Nehru where BJP has not been invited, said, ‘Our policy is not left or right. Things which only matter to us are communal harmony and development. My relationship with Sonia ji (Gandhi) is very good. I am scared of riots and it’s unfortunate that such thing happened in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and in Delhi. I don’t support such act of brutality and we will continue to fight against this.’ While replying to the media on what she thought about Rahul Gandhi, she said, ‘I will not be able to comment anything in this matter because I never worked with him.’
Clarifying her statement that ‘I don’t like danga (riot) Guru and like dharma (religious) Guru’ was meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi or not, she said, ‘It was not meant for him but for those small leaders who are trying to create such tensions.’ While stressing that her relationship with the Centre is ‘very good’ she said, ‘Yesterday, I met union finance minister Arun Jaitley ji and invited him to attend the Bengal Global Business Summit, which is scheduled to be held on 7-8 January, 2015, in Kolkata.’ Later in the evening, Banerjee met President Pranab Mukherjee and invited him for the summit.
She also met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his residence but refuse to divulge much about the meeting. ‘We had a discussion over few issues and it was good,’ she said, It is expected that on Wednesday she is likely to meet Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj.
‘I had a word with him yesterday in Delhi and he (Yadav) said that he wanted to have a discussion with me in Kolkata. I am always ready for talks with my political colleagues for the greater interest of the country,’ she said on Tuesday, while adding that in Bengal her party will fight alone in coming elections and ruling out any coalition with any political parties. Her statement on ‘fighting alone’ came when she was asked whether her party was worried over BJP gaining popularity in Bengal. ‘How can you say that they are rising in Bengal with meager seats in hand? We fought for more than 35-years and it is not an easy game. I have full faith in my people,’ she said.
On the context of political realignment with Congress, if they take the lead in forming a Federal or Secular Front to combat the communal forces in the country, she said, ‘Let them decide or form the platform, then we will decide. Our party is always there for the greater interest of the country, for the peaceful situation of the country, for the stability of the country. I will be with them.’
‘It’s better late than never for such platform,’ she added. Earlier, on 18 September 2012, Banerjee had walked out of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government over diesel price hike, LPG cap and FDI issues. After two years of severing ties, Banerjee said she is willing to join a coalition that includes her arch rival, the Left, if the Congress takes the initiative to form the group.
Banerjee, who is presently in the national capital to attend a conference to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister and Congressman Jawaharlal Nehru where BJP has not been invited, said, ‘Our policy is not left or right. Things which only matter to us are communal harmony and development. My relationship with Sonia ji (Gandhi) is very good. I am scared of riots and it’s unfortunate that such thing happened in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and in Delhi. I don’t support such act of brutality and we will continue to fight against this.’ While replying to the media on what she thought about Rahul Gandhi, she said, ‘I will not be able to comment anything in this matter because I never worked with him.’
Clarifying her statement that ‘I don’t like danga (riot) Guru and like dharma (religious) Guru’ was meant for Prime Minister Narendra Modi or not, she said, ‘It was not meant for him but for those small leaders who are trying to create such tensions.’ While stressing that her relationship with the Centre is ‘very good’ she said, ‘Yesterday, I met union finance minister Arun Jaitley ji and invited him to attend the Bengal Global Business Summit, which is scheduled to be held on 7-8 January, 2015, in Kolkata.’ Later in the evening, Banerjee met President Pranab Mukherjee and invited him for the summit.
She also met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at his residence but refuse to divulge much about the meeting. ‘We had a discussion over few issues and it was good,’ she said, It is expected that on Wednesday she is likely to meet Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj.
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