Keeping the guessing game alive on the issue of Trinamool Congress’ vote during the July 22 trust motion in Parliament, party chief Mamata Banerjee on Sunday said that “deals made in New Delhi to save the UPA government are detrimental to the interests of West Bengal”.
She warned that if such a thing happened, her party would launch a statewide agitation against it.
Banerjee’s latest statement was directed at demands put forth by Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) in return for its support to the UPA government.
“As a price for saving the government, some people are demanding that the head office of Coal India Ltd be shifted to some other state. And some are demanding that districts like Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore be given to them,” she told mediapersons at her Kalighat residence.
“We don’t care whom JMM chief Shibu Soren and his MPs cast their vote for or which way Chandrababu Naidu and his party will tilt. It hardly matters whether this government wins or loses. But we warn that we will not tolerate anything that is harmful to the state, and the Central government must stop conceding to such demands,” Banerjee added.
On the trust vote, she said that she would make her stand clear at Monday’s public rally in the city. “I will announce in front of the audience what I am going to do on July 22. My party maintains transparency. In fact, I have already booked tickets for Delhi. But I will make a formal announcement on July 21,” she said.
On being asked whether Congress MLA Sudip Bandopadhyay was going to join the Trinamool Congress, she said the Congress leader had spoken to her on the phone on a few occasions. “In any case, I don’t know what he is going to do,” she added.