Civic polls: TMC, Cong to take joint decisions
Kolkata, Feb. 11: In the first such gesture since the Lok Sabha polls in 2009, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee and West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) leaders like Pradip Bhattacharya and Manas Bhuniya jointly announced that the
Trinamul Congress-Congress alliance will now fight for common issues together and will start soon by sending a team to visit governor M.K. Narayanan. "We have decided to work on all important issues together. The allies will deliberate and exchange opinions which will help in forming policy decisions," Ms Banerjee said on Thursday after a 90-minute meeting with the WBPCC leaders.
The Trinamul Congress chief once again reiterated that the state government has failed to control the law and order situation in the state and that the combined strength of the Opposition allies was needed to fight that. "We have decided to go together and visit the governor and apprise him of the situation in the state," she said.
Keeping in view the coming municipal elections, a committee consisting of the Trinamul Congress and Congress leaders have also been formed. "Both the parties have decided on certain leaders to be in the committee and it will from now on deal with all the decisions for the municipal polls," she said.
Interestingly, WBPCC president Pranab Mukherjee on February 8 had said that the rank and file of the Congress was in favour of leaving the decisions regarding municipal polls in the hand of zila leaders. Evidently, Ms Banerjee once again had her way in the alliance with the decision being largely left to the state leadership now.
The alliance has also decided to take up the Gorkhaland issue together. "Both the parties are against the division of Bengal although we strongly solicit developmental measures in the Hills," WBPCC working president Pradip Bhattacharya said
Former mayor and another WBPCC working president Subrata Mukherjee, whose clandestine meeting with the Trinamul Congress chief a few days back had raised questions whether he was trying to bargain for the mayor’s post, was also present for the meeting. "Deciding who will be the mayor is a very small issue and we will definitely sit and discuss it. But it is too early to say anything about it right now," Ms Banerjee said when asked who could be the possible projected mayor.
Age Correspondent
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