Announcing the induction of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) working president Subrata Mukherjee into the Trinamool Congress here on Wednesday, party chief Mamata Banerjee indirectly accused the State Congress of “conspiring” with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to break up the alliance between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress in the State.
“The people's grand alliance has struggled against the tyranny of the CPI(M) for the past 33 years. Whichever party might conspire with and support the CPI(M), it is useless since the latter has lost all power…these agents of the CPI(M) will eventually realise that the real power rests with the people's grand alliance as those who flee from a battlefield are never respected,” Ms. Banerjee said.
The Trinamool chief was speaking at a press conference where Mr. Mukherjee formally announced his decision to quit the Congress and join the Trinamool.
Pointing out that her party is a “part and parcel” of the coalition government at the Centre and is committed to the alliance, she claimed that it had always tried to maintain the alliance and had worked hard accordingly.
Exuding confidence about her party's prospects in the upcoming civic polls, Ms. Banerjee asserted that Mr. Mukherjee's decision to rejoin the Trinamool was “necessary for history, for change, for the State and its people” and appointed him the party's senior vice-president.
Echoing Ms. Banerjee's words, Mr. Mukherjee said he had of late started doubting the Congress' intention of maintaining the alliance and felt “useless” in the party. “The truth is that it was a deliberate attempt to break the alliance. The CPI(M) has a major role behind it ,” he added.
After functioning as Mayor of Kolkata under the Trinamool banner, Mr. Mukherjee had left the party and joined the Congress five years ago following differences of opinion with Ms. Banerjee.
