Mamata slams ally Congress

Kolkata, Jan 7: The widening rift between Congress and Trinamool Congress today came out in the open with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today lashing out at her ally at the Centre and said it was free to quit the alliance.

The Trinamool chief accused the Congress of spreading canard against her party because it had opposed FDI in retail, petrol price hike and interference in the federal structure.

"Congress is spreading canard and is carrying out false propaganda against TC on the issue of assault on the principal of Raigunj University college on January 5 because we opposed FDI in retail, frequent petrol price hikes and total interference into federal structure.

"Lokayukta was forcibly included in the Lokpal bill. They(Cong) had not paid heed to our words. Voting was not done on it," Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

"If Congress feels they can go with CPI-M, they can do it. (The) Door is open for them. If Congress works with CPI-M, they will not get Trinamool Congress. TC can go it alone", she said.

Congress is also was worried because TC has decided to contest coming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Manipur, Banerjee said, adding she was speaking as the TC chief.

Alleging that Congress and CPI-M were working together, she said the 'small incident' of assault on college principal Dilip De Sarkar after a clash between Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and Chhatra Parishad of Congress was being 'blown out of proportion intentionally' to malign her party.

Banerjee, however, dubbed the incident as "unfortunate" and said "Sometime young people commit mistakes. Those who did it (assaulted the principal) will be arrested ... We are taking whatever action is required to be taken in this case."

Trinamool Congress had yesterday accused Congress of trying to create lawlessness in the state in order to 'help' CPI-M and warned that both government and the party would not tolerate it.

Congress spokesman Abhishek Singhvi had said yesterday that "nobody is denying that there are differences of opinion. Such difference of opinion are not irreconcilable....To try to act like 'Narad muni' to provoke and to create a provocative atmosphere is not right."

PTI