The Hindu : Crisis in Trinamool

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, May 25, 2003

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Crisis in Trinamool

By Our Special Correspondent

KOLKATA MAY 24. The Trinamool Congress, headed by Mamata Banerjee, faced a grave crisis today as Ms. Banerjee, billed as a certain entrant into the Vajpayee Government till Friday, opted out to quell a rebellion in her backyard.

Ms. Banerjee had cancelled her trip to Delhi after she learnt that the BJP leadership had mounted efforts — allegedly at the behest of the Union Home Minister, L.K. Advani — to make the Trinamool chief whip, Sudip Bandyopadhyay, a Minister in the Central Ministry along with her.

Ms. Banerjee called an emergency meeting of the party's working committee this morning, which, after deliberating for three hours, faxed a letter to the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, expressing reservations about the manner in which the BJP leadership was trying to induct Mr. Bandyopadhyay into the Cabinet without her consent. "The proposed induction would go against the basic `dharma' of coalition politics," she said.

The meeting recommended to the party's disciplinary committee to deal with the "anti-party activities" of Mr. Bandyopadhyay.

He had been lobbying for a berth for himself knowing Ms. Banerjee's reservations about him.

According to Trinamool sources, the BJP president, Venkaiah Naidu, and the NDA convener, George Fernandes, later telephoned Ms. Banerjee during the day and assured her that no Trinamool MP would be inducted into the Cabinet without consulting her.

The Trinamool spokesperson, Pankaj Banerjee, told the media that the Prime Minister's office had informed Ms. Banerjee today that the induction of the Trinamool in the Cabinet would be kept in abeyance for the time being. The drama took a new turn last evening when Ms. Banerjee learnt that her bete noire Mr. Bandyopadhyay, too, had been offered a berth in the Government. Mr. Bandyopadhyay has been camping in Delhi ever since the Prime Minister announced the plan for a Cabinet reshuffle.

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