Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo will fight against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) ‘alone’. She told reporters in here that the TMC will not participate in a meeting called by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi, Monday in protest against the government’s citizenship law.
This certainly will be good news to the BJP as this is the first sign of spilt in the opposition unity. Also for them a single Mamata Banerjee will be easier to handle rather than the entire opposition together. Mamata Banerjee has been one of the harshest critics of CAA and without her support the opposition will surely lack the sting that it earlier had.
The Bengal Chief Minister accused the Left and the Congress of playing ‘dirty politics’ and said she would fight against the citizenship law CAA and NRC alone.
“Due to this politics of opposition in state, in contradiction with their All-India stance, I have decided not to attend the anti-CAA and NRC meeting on January 13,” said Banerjee, speaking during a special session of the Bengal Assembly.
Banerjee also requested the opposition party leaders to ‘forgive her’ for not attending the meeting as ‘it was me who had mooted the idea’.
“But what happened yesterday (Wednesday) in West Bengal it is not more possible for me to attend the meeting anymore,” Banerjee asserted. She referred to the damaging of buses and a road blockade by the CPI(M) during a strike called by Left trade unions.
Banerjee said her fight against the CAA would continue and she would never allow this law and NRC in Bengal. As the CPI(M) goaded her to pass a resolution against CAA and NRC in the assembly, Banerjee shot back that she had already voiced her opposition earlier and did not feel the need to ‘pass a resolution now’.
“You don’t need to tell me about how to fight CAA,” the Chief Minister declared, shouting above the roar of protests from the CPM and Congress.
Agencies