Mamata flays Manmohan, rules out trucking with Congress

Kolkata, Apr 22 (UNI) Flaying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and dubbing Congress as a betrayer, Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee today ruled out any joint movement of the two parties against the CPI(M) on the issue of land acquisition.

Pouring heat on the Prime Minister for his silence following the Nandigram incident, Mamata said, ''the Congress had a tacit understanding with the CPI(M), the major Left partner extending outside support to the UPA government, and Congres never had a genuine intention to fight the marxists in Bengal'' ''The Congress does not want to fight the CPI(M). Never has it done so. We have to be alert against those who have always betrayed the people in the name of movement,'' she said while addressing a minority convention of the party.

Her outburst came a day after former PCC Chief Somen Mitra called for a secular and democratic alliance with the Trinamool Congress against the Left Front government.

While the AICC wanted Ms Banerjee to sever ties with the NDA as a pre-requisite for forming an anti-Left alliance, Mr Mitra said, ''The BJP factor should no longer stand in the way of the Congress since Mamata had been maintaining a distance from the party.'' However, alleging that the Congress had always strengthened the hand of the CPI(M), Ms Banerjee said this was why she came out of the party and formed a new outfit.

''Has the Congress ever fought the CPI(M)?'' she asked the party members.

''We came out to form the Trinamool Congress because the Congress had always strengthened the hands of the CPI(M),'' she said. To convince her followers that the Congress remained the same, the Trinamool Supremo alleged that despite her repeated requests the Prime Minister had not taken any action following the Nandigram carnage, nor did he reply to her letter.

''Neither has the Prime Minister replied to any of my letter, nor for once has he called me up on the issue. He has done nothing,'' she said.

She alleged that during her hunger strike against Singur land acquisition, the Prime Minister sent only a request letter on a white paper calling her to end her fast without ascertaining the problems through a personal meeting.

UNI