- Cong refuses to confirm Janpath meeting
Sept. 29: Mamata Banerjee left for Delhi today to meet Sonia Gandhi and complain about how the Bengal government was “going against the agreement” it had signed with her on September 7 to end the Singur impasse.
“As the Prime Minister is abroad, I have decided to call on Soniaji…. I shall submit to her all the papers concerning the pact signed between the government and us in front of the governor to show her how the CPM is going back on its own decision to arrange land for unwilling farmers from within the project area,” Mamata said.
The Trinamul Congress said the meeting at Sonia’s 10 Janpath residence was scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Congress sources in Delhi, however, refused to confirm the meeting. Sources privy to Sonia’s daily engagements initially said they had heard of such a report and “perhaps” a time for the meeting was being worked out. When a confirmation was sought later, they said “no meeting was on”.
The Congress president is slated to address a rally at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh at 1pm tomorrow.
Asked why she was going to the Congress chief, Mamata said: “Soniaji is at the helm of the UPA, which runs the government at the Centre. My objective is to draw the Centre’s attention to the manner in which the state has gone against its own decision on resolving the standoff.”
She had called on governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi last week and requested him to recommend President’s rule in Bengal because the government had “disobeyed the constitutional head of the state”.
After the Left’s withdrawal of support to the Centre and with the Lok Sabha elections months away, Mamata’s move is significant, political observers in the state said. Sources in Trinamul and the state Congress felt it might pave the way for a pre-poll pact.
“Mamata had spoken to Soniaji before she decided to back the late Ghani Khan Chowdhury’s brother in the byelection to the Malda parliament-ary seat in 2006. The Congress had supported Trinamul’s Saugata Ray in an Assembly bypoll to reciprocate the gesture,” a Trinamul leader said.
Eight months ago, Mamata had met both Sonia and BJP leader L.K. Advani on Nandigram. “This time, she is not calling on Advani,” an aide said.
In the past, Sonia’s meetings, especially with prospective allies, have been kept under wraps. Mohsina Kidwai, the Congress general secretary in charge of Bengal, said she had no idea whether the meeting would take place. “Alliances and other such matters have been left to the state leaders. There are heavyweights like Pranab Mukherjee and Priya Ranjan Das Munshi.”
Mukherjee is in the US and Das Munshi in Calcutta.
Without naming state Congress chief Das Munshi, Mamata today said some “upstart leaders” are “acting as CPM stooges”. “They are speaking for the CPM and advocating its compensation package (for landlosers),” Mamata said.
Das Munshi said: “I don’t know who she is referring to. I must say that those cornered in the CPM once are now by her side all the time.”
Mamata’s reluctance to officially snap ties with the BJP-led NDA had earlier stood in the way of a formal alliance with the Congress.
Congress sources in Delhi said an alliance with Trinamul had not been discussed at any “serious” level.
Tata trip
Calcutta, Sept. 29: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is learnt to have informed the CPM that Ratan Tata could visit Calcutta on Friday.
Bhattacharjee had said on Saturday that Tata had agreed to a meeting on Singur. The CPM state committee today asked the government why it was not being firm in tackling protesters and why it appeared “apologetic” while dealing with them.
The government has called an all-party meeting on Singur tomorrow but Mamata Banerjee left for Delhi, saying she would meet Sonia Gandhi. (END) Source: The Telegraph
Sept. 29: Mamata Banerjee left for Delhi today to meet Sonia Gandhi and complain about how the Bengal government was “going against the agreement” it had signed with her on September 7 to end the Singur impasse.
“As the Prime Minister is abroad, I have decided to call on Soniaji…. I shall submit to her all the papers concerning the pact signed between the government and us in front of the governor to show her how the CPM is going back on its own decision to arrange land for unwilling farmers from within the project area,” Mamata said.
The Trinamul Congress said the meeting at Sonia’s 10 Janpath residence was scheduled for Tuesday evening.
Congress sources in Delhi, however, refused to confirm the meeting. Sources privy to Sonia’s daily engagements initially said they had heard of such a report and “perhaps” a time for the meeting was being worked out. When a confirmation was sought later, they said “no meeting was on”.
The Congress president is slated to address a rally at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh at 1pm tomorrow.
Asked why she was going to the Congress chief, Mamata said: “Soniaji is at the helm of the UPA, which runs the government at the Centre. My objective is to draw the Centre’s attention to the manner in which the state has gone against its own decision on resolving the standoff.”
She had called on governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi last week and requested him to recommend President’s rule in Bengal because the government had “disobeyed the constitutional head of the state”.
After the Left’s withdrawal of support to the Centre and with the Lok Sabha elections months away, Mamata’s move is significant, political observers in the state said. Sources in Trinamul and the state Congress felt it might pave the way for a pre-poll pact.
“Mamata had spoken to Soniaji before she decided to back the late Ghani Khan Chowdhury’s brother in the byelection to the Malda parliament-ary seat in 2006. The Congress had supported Trinamul’s Saugata Ray in an Assembly bypoll to reciprocate the gesture,” a Trinamul leader said.
Eight months ago, Mamata had met both Sonia and BJP leader L.K. Advani on Nandigram. “This time, she is not calling on Advani,” an aide said.
In the past, Sonia’s meetings, especially with prospective allies, have been kept under wraps. Mohsina Kidwai, the Congress general secretary in charge of Bengal, said she had no idea whether the meeting would take place. “Alliances and other such matters have been left to the state leaders. There are heavyweights like Pranab Mukherjee and Priya Ranjan Das Munshi.”
Mukherjee is in the US and Das Munshi in Calcutta.
Without naming state Congress chief Das Munshi, Mamata today said some “upstart leaders” are “acting as CPM stooges”. “They are speaking for the CPM and advocating its compensation package (for landlosers),” Mamata said.
Das Munshi said: “I don’t know who she is referring to. I must say that those cornered in the CPM once are now by her side all the time.”
Mamata’s reluctance to officially snap ties with the BJP-led NDA had earlier stood in the way of a formal alliance with the Congress.
Congress sources in Delhi said an alliance with Trinamul had not been discussed at any “serious” level.
Tata trip
Calcutta, Sept. 29: Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is learnt to have informed the CPM that Ratan Tata could visit Calcutta on Friday.
Bhattacharjee had said on Saturday that Tata had agreed to a meeting on Singur. The CPM state committee today asked the government why it was not being firm in tackling protesters and why it appeared “apologetic” while dealing with them.
The government has called an all-party meeting on Singur tomorrow but Mamata Banerjee left for Delhi, saying she would meet Sonia Gandhi. (END) Source: The Telegraph
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