The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee on Sunday came down heavily on its alliance partner — the Trinamul Congress — both at the Centre and the state for carrying out attacks on its workers and supporters across West Bengal.
At the same time, what seems to be an effort to drive a wedge between the Trinamul Congress, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee lauded Dinesh Trivedi for presenting a “positive” Railway Budget.
“Earlier the chief minister had promised that her administration would function impartially. But now we see that this promise is not being kept. The hooligans, sheltered by the CPI(M) as well as the Trinamul Congress, are carrying out attacks against our party workers and supporters. We are being deprived of justice by the administration. If the state administration does not function impartially, we will launch agitation across the state,” state Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya threatened after a West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee meeting where resolutions, demanding proper justice from the state administration for the Trinamul Congress atrocities against the Congress, were adopted.
Adding further, Mr Bhattacharya said: “We are in alliance with the Trinamul Congress in the state and also in the government. We will continue the alliance and will co-operate with them, but we want that the administration should function independently and in an impartial manner.”
Apprehending that the Trinamul Congress might not form an alliance with the Congress in the three-tier panchayat elections due in 2013, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee has also decided to take an initiative for fighting the polls on its own.
“The alliance might not be continued, but the Congress party will exist. Hence, we have decided to strengthen our party organisation at the booth level so that the party can fight the polls on its own strengths,” Mr Bhattacharya elaborated.
He also informed that the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee was waiting for the Congress high command’s green signal to field its candidate for Rajya Sabha from West Bengal. On being asked about Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s claim that she did not leave any Rajya Sabha seat for the Congress due to rotation formula this time (the Congress got one seat last year with the support of the Trinamul Congress), Mr Bhattacharya replied: “Last time I was the candidate and I needed 41.5 votes whereas our party had 43 votes. Hence, there was no need of any Trinamul Congress vote.”