Mamata's unpleasant surprise; strips Congress of three dpts

Kolkata, Jan 18: Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee in a shock to the alliance party Congress, stripped the alliance of three departments, replacing them with two new Trinamool Congress ministers.

Mamata's move only makes the tension between the two allies more apparent.

Sources reveal that Mamata has chalked out more plans for Congress and may even plan for more reshuffles for some Trinamool ministers.

Chandrima Bhattacharya and Aroop Biswas were sworn in from the Trinamool Congress, while Abu Hena and Manoj Chakraborty from Congress lost their portfolio.

Trinamool's Ujjwal Biswas was handed over Hena's fisheries minister portfolio, while Chakraborty lost both his portfolios of minister of state departments - parliamentary affairs and cottage and small-scale industries.

"I will speak with my party," said Chakraborty after the reshuffle.

"This is vendetta for speaking up (against the attacks on Congress workers by Trinamool)," he said.

The government, however, remained tight-lipped about the whole episode and it was only in the evening that the announcement was made.

Aroop Biswas has been handed over MoS parliamentary affairs and youth affairs minister.

OneIndia News