JOIN USTrinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday assured the CPM of her support if it moved a no-trust motion to bring down the government.
Mamata’s promise comes a day after the CPM turned down the Trinamool Congress’s proposal for a no-confidence motion against the UPA government.
“If I am not wrong, CPM leaders said it cannot support the no-confidence motion brought by the Trinamool Congress. I called up Gurudas Dasgupta and told him to speak to them and tell them to bring the no-confidence motion. I will support them provided they do not withdraw it midway, striking a deal with Congress,” Chief Minister Banerjee told reporters at the Writers’ Building on Tuesday.
“They might have reservation in supporting the motion moved by the Trinamool Congress but I don’t have any such ego. If needed I can even go to Alimuddin Street (CPM state headquarters) and talk to Biman Bose (Left Front chairman) on this issue,” Banerjee said.
When asked whether she spoke to Sushma Swaraj for support, Banerjee said: “I might not believe in some political ideology but I do have the right to speak to any political party. If the Congress can speak to the BJP, then even the Trinamool Congress can speak to anyone, whether it is the BJP or Left.”
“Moreover, the issue on which our party has decided to move the no-trust motion is not a political issue. This is an issue to the save the poor people of the country, an issue to save the country and here, I believe, we should not confine ourselves within the narrow limits of mere political gains and losses. I appeal to all political parties to come out openly and support this no-confidence motion to oust the Congress from power,” Banerjee said.
“The UPA is a coalition government but Congress for the last three and a half years have taken all the decisions unilaterally without consulting the coalition partners. They have lost the people’s mandate and they don’t have the right to stay in power,” Banerjee added.
Banerjee however stuck to her announcement made earlier that her party was going to move a no-confidence motion against FDI in retail on the first day of the winter session of Parliament. The Trinamool Congress withdrew from the UPA in September in protest against the hike in fuel prices and the decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail. Though the CPI said it would support the motion if the TMC manages to get 50 MPs essential to bring the no-confidence motion, the CPM rejected the proposal.