New Delhi: The Trinamool Congress’ (TMC) token presence — within the type of the social gathering’s Rajya Sabha MP Mausam Benazir Noor — on the INDIA bloc’s protest Friday towards the suspension of 146 Opposition MPs at Jantar Mantar in Delhi has raised eyebrows in political circles.
The absence of outstanding TMC faces on the protest stood out in stark distinction to the presence of prime leaders of different constituents of the INDIA bloc, which was shaped in July to tackle the BJP within the 2024 common elections by way of seat-sharing, a standard minimal agenda and joint campaigns.
It additionally comes towards the backdrop of West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee touchdown the Congress management in a spot at Tuesday’s INDIA assembly by proposing that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge be made the convenor of the alliance, or declared as its prime ministerial candidate.
A day later, Banerjee met Prime Minister Narendra Modi over unpaid dues to West Bengal underneath numerous central schemes.
Whereas a delegation of 9 TMC MPs accompanied Banerjee for the assembly, ThePrint has learnt that Modi and Banerjee additionally had a separate one-on-one interplay there.
Chatting with ThePrint, a TMC chief stated that for the reason that MPs weren’t instructed by the social gathering management to remain again to attend the INDIA bloc’s protest, most left for West Bengal Wednesday and Thursday, when the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha have been adjourned sine die.
“The TMC made it clear at the 19 December (Tuesday) meeting of the INDIA bloc that without seat-sharing, this alliance has no meaning. In fact, even at the meeting, despite being present along with (TMC general secretary) Abhishek Banerjee, Mamata Banerjee let TMC’s Rajya Sabha leader Derek O’Brien do the talking,” the chief stated.
“That she is not very enthused with the alliance and TMC-Congress ties are frosty again is very evident,” the chief added.
Rising from her assembly with Modi, Banerjee had instructed the media that the PM gave the TMC delegation a affected person listening to and promised to arrange committees comprising state and central officers to resolve the problems.
That’s the place she additionally stated that had Congress chief Rahul Gandhi not shot the video of TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee mimicking Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar, “you would not even have known (about it)”.
By the way, whereas Kalyan Banerjee was additionally amongst these purported to accompany the TMC chief to fulfill the PM, he was later requested to skip the assembly, citing the presence of too many leaders within the delegation.
Additionally Learn: ‘Everyone asks about our PM face’ — Mamata on her proposal to appoint Congress president Kharge
‘BJP MPs were scared out of their wits’
At Jantar Mantar Friday, the TMC was represented by Noor, a relative light-weight within the social gathering hierarchy.
In her transient speech, Noor appealed to the folks to defeat the BJP within the 2024 common elections.
Then again, most different events of the INDIA bloc, such because the Congress, CPM, CPI, Nationalist Congress Get together, DMK, Aam Aadmi Get together, Samajwadi Get together, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United) and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, deputed their prime leaders to attend the protest.
In his speech, Gandhi took a swipe on the BJP, saying that when the Lok Sabha was breached by two youths final week “BJP MPs were scared out of their wits”.
“Yes, it was a security breach. If they could smuggle in smoke canisters, they could have taken in gas cylinders also. But the second question is, why did they protest? The reason is severe unemployment among youth in the country,” Gandhi stated, claiming {that a} survey had discovered that a median Indian youth “spent around 7.5 hours a day” scrolling by way of Instagram and different social media web sites.
“Because they are unemployed, have no jobs. They are left to browse social media,” he asserted.
Talking after Gandhi, Kharge stated the INDIA coalition had been shaped to safeguard Indian democracy and the Structure, whereas taking a veiled jibe at Dhankhar.
“Those holding constitutional posts say that he is being insulted as he belongs to a certain caste. A person who has taken a constitutional oath says such things. If that is the case, what will happen to a Dalit like me? When I wanted to raise issues of farmers, Dalits, women, I was not allowed to do so. Should I then say that I was prevented from speaking in the House due to my Dalit identity?” Kharge requested.
Responding to Kalyan Banerjee’s mimicry of him within the presence of numerous suspended MPs outdoors the Home chambers, Dhankhar had stated Tuesday that the TMC MP’s act “did not just insult a farmer or a community, it was disrespectful to the post of the Rajya Sabha chairman as well”.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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