Vajpayee hints at split in Trinamool Congress

By Malabika Bhattacharya

KOLKATA, MAY 6. The Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, dealt a blow to Ms. Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress supremo, just before the May 10 Assembly election in West Bengal when he indicated today that besides the rebel Trinamool MP, Mr. Ajit Panja, a few other parliamentarians from that party were expected to sever ties with Ms. Banerjee and return to the National Democratic Alliance fold soon.

``I hope Mr. Panja will be my colleague in the coming days. When his other colleagues join us, the NDA will be absolutely secure,'' Mr. Vajpayee said amid loud applause.

The Prime Minister made these observations at an election rally at Kamarhati in North 24-parganas this evening. Mr. Panja was present at the meeting with a few supporters, who waved Trinamool flags and cried ``Ajit Panja zindabad, Vajpayee zindabad.''

That Mr. Vajpayee was determined to take full advantage of the dissidence in the Trinamool Congress became evident when he showered praise on Mr. Panja saying he had projected himself as an effective administrator during his tenure as the Minister of State for External Affairs. ``He did a commendable job and also spread the message of spiritual India by enacting Ramkrishna Paramhansa Dev abroad.''

`Sinking ship'

In his 40-minute speech, Mr. Vajpayee hit out at the Congress saying it was a ``sinking ship'' with no future in politics. Its president, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, would pull down Ms. Banerjee, her newest ally, as well.

``It is a sinking ship. Anyone who steps into that ship will also go down without a trace. Hum to dube hai sanam, tujhko bhi leke dubenge (I am already sunk dear, I will pull you down as well),'' Mr. Vajpayee said in an oblique reference to Ms. Banerjee, his former ally.

In the course of his speech, dominated by criticism of the Congress, he touched on the party's attempts to block parliamentary proceedings on the Tehelka issue, its forging of electoral ties with tainted political parties and its labelling of the BJP as communal.

Even though Mr. Vajpayee refrained from a direct attack on Ms. Banerjee, he did not spare her for quitting the NDA just before the election to tie up with the Congress for gaining minority votes. ``Some people dub me as communal. For them, an alliance with me will alienate the Muslims and the minorities,'' he said.

In a bid to demonstrate his secular credentials, he said he enjoyed the support of the Muslims in his constituency in Lucknow. He had once won from Delhi's Chandni Chowk constituency, a predominantly Muslim-dominated area. ``People do not think I am communal.''

He attacked the Congress for its claim of being the prime propagator of secularism. ``Secularism was not born with Congress in 1947. It's in our blood. All of us are part of a secular tradition.'' The NDA Government had succeeded in maintaining communal harmony in the past three years.

Accusing Ms. Banerjee of reviving the moribund Congress by forging an alliance with it in this election, he wondered ``is it absolutely necessary to revive it (Congress)?'' He questioned her decision to quit the NDA over corruption and tie up with what he described as an equally corrupt Congress.

Corruption had grown roots and all political parties should put in their best efforts to uproot it. But Mr. Vajpayee reacted sharply to the Congress making allegations of corruption against his Government and demanding his resignation on moral grounds.

``I tell them (the Congress and the communists), don't try to give me a lesson on morality and ethics. Where is their morality when they tie up with Mr. Laloo Prasad Yadav in Bihar and Ms. Jayalalitha in Tamil Nadu?''

The Trinamool Congress and the BJP could put up a stiff challenge against both the ruling communists and the Congress in the Bengal election as the Left had demolished industry, health and education in the past 24 years. `Insignificant'

PTI reports:

The Trinamool Congress today sought to downplay the dissident leader and MP, Mr. Ajit Panja's act of sharing the dais with the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, at a BJP election meeting in Kamarhati saying the Trinamool would attach no importance to ``a person who is totally isolated in the party.''

``It is totally a non-issue to us and we attach no importance to Mr. Panja's sharing the dais with the Prime Minister,'' the Trinamool Congress chief whip in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Sudip Bandopadhyay, said.

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