Mamata welcomes Left with fish fries, asks it to take guard against BJP

, June 10: For those who believe that the Trinamool Congres (TMC) and Left can never see eye to eye, they will be stumped to see this. On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC chief

welcomed the representatives of the

who went to meet her to complain about the growing attacks on their supporters across the state after the recent Lok Sabha election.

According to Bengali daily Anandabazaar Patrika, Banerjee, who met the Left representatives led by their Chairman Biman Bose at the Secretariat in Howrah and welcomed them with fish fries, cream rolls and Darjeeling tea, spoke about the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state. The vote-share of the BJP jumped to nearly 17 per cent from six per cent in the recent general election, raising serious doubts in the ranks of the two traditional rivals, the TMC and the Left.

The chief minister even asked the Left members why more and more of their supporters are joining the BJP. "Set your own house in order," she advised them, the report said.

Banerjee repeatedly asked the Left to keep quiet for 10 years after taking over

When Bose threatened to go to protest if the attacks on the Left supporters didn't stop, the chief minister even welcomed him, saying it is the duty of the political parties to go on agitation!

Banerjee also assured the Left representatives that the availability of land wouldn't be a problem for setting up a research centre named after late Left chief minister Jyoti Basu. She also proposed that the TMC and Left could appoint two leaders from either side to carry out the task of coordinating between the ruling and opposition Left on the charges of political violence in the state.

The development was unique and created a ripple in the state politics. Banerjee and the Left have been known to be fierce opponents since the beginning and now when the former was seen making a soft approach towards her arch-rivals, many asked: Is Banerjee feeling apprehensive by the rise of the BJP in the state?

Banerjee became the chief minister of the state in 2011 after toppling the 34-year regime of the Left. She repeatedly told it to keep quiet for 10 years by putting leucoplasts on their mouth.

Oneindia News