All six state Congress ministers will resign from the Mamata Banerjee government on Saturday in Kolkata a day after the Trinamul Congress ministers submitted their resignation letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi. AICC general secretary and in-charge of Bengal Shakeel Ahmed called up state party president Pradip Bhattacharya and conveyed the message of the party high command minutes after the Trinamul Congress ministers resigned. “All Congress ministers in the state council of ministers and Cabinet will personally hand over their resignation letters to chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday evening,” state irrigation minister and senior Congress leader Manas Bhunia said. He had sought and got an appointment with the chief minister at 5 pm on Saturday.
The Trinamul ministers parted ways with the UPA-2 after a three-year-long partnership while the Congress ministers will leave the state government after only 16 months. Mr Bhattacharya blamed Ms Banerjee squarely for the situation. In a tit-for-tat, the Congress has also decided to launch a movement against the state government.
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State congress stakes claim to central berths
age correspondent
Kolkata, Sept. 21
The state Congress on Friday staked claim to three ministerial berths, including one of Cabinet status in the UPA-2 government at the Centre after the six Trinamul Congress ministers submitted their resignation letters to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
State Congress president Om Prakash Mishra has written a letter to the party high command, making the request. “The question of proportionate and adequate representation from the state is engaging the attention of the people. Of the 42 Lok Sabha and 16 Rajya Sabha members from the state, we have only six members supporting the UPA government,” the letter said. He was referring to the six Congress MP who were elected in 2009 from Bengal.
He claimed that sufficient representation of Congress MPs from Bengal in the Manmohan Singh government would boost the morale of the party workers and help the party increase its support base.