JOIN US'BJP has crossed the line': TMC puts aside enmity with Congress, attends meet chaired by Kharge
Leaving aside its increasing bitterness with Congress for the time being, Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Monday attended a joint Opposition meeting called by Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge and sent its MPs for a protest march on the Adani issue and Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification.
However, the party also sent a not-so-subtle message to Congress by sending junior MPs Prasoon Banerjee and Jawahar Sircar instead of floor leaders Sudip Bandhyopadhyay and Derek O’Brien for the meeting, indicating that their attendance in a joint platform is issue-based and they have not forgotten the barbs hurled at party chief Mamata Banerjee.
The party has also decided to send the same MPs to a dinner meeting called by Kharge at his residence on Monday.
Asked about Trinamool’s turn-around, its Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien said, “The BJP has crossed the line. Democracy, Parliament, federalism and the Constitution have to be saved. The Opposition are united in this cause.”
The Trinamool’s surprise move came even as it has been skipping meetings called by the Congress, which some Opposition leaders said has “isolated” them from other non-NDA parties. Trinamool is not supporting the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into Adani issue and wants a Supreme Court-monitored probe.
The chasm widened as the Congress-Left candidate defeated Trinamool in a recent bypoll and Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury attacked Mamata Banerjee following the setback. Trinamool sources said Chowdhury’s comments
Kharge and other Congress leaders have publicly thanked all parties for their support for Rahul but sources said they were not rushing into a judgement that Trinamool has a change of heart.
Some Opposition leaders have also found fault with the Trinamool ‘Ekla Chalo Re’ in Parliament, as parties like AAP and Samajwadi Party, which have also been publicly critical of the Congress, were regularly attending meetings and fighting it out together.
Interestingly, the Trinamool did not react to the conviction of Rahul on Thursday with a senior leader saying that they were “observing radio silence” but after the Congress leader’s disqualification, Mamata condemned it and instructed her leaders and MPs to be part of the protests.
Trinamool’s mouthpiece ‘Jago Bangla’ also published a news report on sending representatives to the meeting on Monday highlighting Rahul’s issue, which is said to be a message to party workers that the support is limited.