Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh on Sunday joined forces with state Congress leaders who attacked chief minister Mamata Banerjee, accusing her of trying to marginalise the Congress in the state. Mr Ramesh said: “The
Congress has not taken VRS. It’s the only party which has a presence in every village in the country... We have not taken sanyas here. The Congress doesn’t need a directive from anyone.”
Mr Ramesh added, though, that the Congress was aware of its limits. “We must not cross the laxman rekha as we have to run a government at the Centre.”
Disregarding this advice, state party leaders, particularly MPs Adhir Chaudhury and Deepa Das Munshi, tore into the Trinamul Congress and Ms Banerjee herself, in the presence of Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee.