New Delhi, May 21
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee certainly knows how to drive a tough bargain. And that “didi” with her temperamental and headstrong ways can prove a hard nut to crack, the Congress is learning fast, at least developments of the day all pointed toward this.
Apparently it is not just plum portfolios that “didi” is eyeing.
Alleging that there was complete breakdown of the constitutional machinery and people had lost confidence in the Left Front government in West Bengal, she is also demanding the imposition of the President’s rule there.
“The CPM-led Left Front government has to come to an end in West Bengal. There needs to be the President’s rule and there have to be elections because of the kind of killing which is taking place and the poor state of law and order machinery. There is entire constitutional breakdown,” Trinamool leader Dinesh Trivedi told a news channel.
According to Trinamool leader, ministerial berths were not a priority for the party but restoring the democracy in West Bengal is. “Ministerial berths are not a priority and I think there is more speculation in the media. We have democracy in the centre now and no democracy in West Bengal. So we need to impose democracy by the people, of the people and for the people there,” he
said.
Mamata - the UPA’s largest ally with 19 MPs - immediately after her first meeting with the Congress leaders and allies of the UPA had wanted to advance assembly elections in West Bengal due in 2011. She said, “Sooner the Left Front goes, the better it will be for West Bengal. Nothing is moving in the state. Everything is at a standstill.”
As per the Trinamool supremo, ministerial berths were not a priority for the party but restoring democracy in West Bengal was. Which is why, political observers have a reason to believe that despite an exciting electoral verdict in favour of their party, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi can expect some tough times ahead, courtesy
Mamta. Mamta said on Thursday it was for the Congress to decide on the issue of the Cabinet berths. “We want our relations with the Congress to remain good. It is their decision what they do. We have no demand,” she said. According to her close aides, “didi” was getting the Railways portfolio. However, not so keen to develop her clout at the national level, she apparently was instead eyeing the post of the West Bengal Chief Minister. The UPA government, which had drawn criticism for its move to dissolve the Bihar assembly in May 2005 and faced severe criticism for its role in the political instability in Jharkhand and Goa in 2006, may find this demand difficult to fulfil. Congress sources say Manmohan Singh will most definitely put her this demand down.
As far as ministries go, Mamta seems to have got what she wanted. After several rounds of hard negotiations with the Congress leaders on the issue of portfolios, she publicly declared that the Trinamool had no demands and that all her party wanted was that relations with the Congress should remain
good
.
