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Sonia breaks her silence for Mamata
Fiery West Bengal Congress leader Mamata Banerjee has succeeded where all Sonia Gandhi 'loyalists' had failed. And what years of coaxing by her followers did not achieve, a belligerent Mamata achieved in a jiffy: forcing former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's widow to break her silence on the political front.
As Mamata stepped up her campaign against Congress president Sitaram Kesri and dropped hints that she is all set to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sonia felt it was time to intervene. And save the party from disintegration.
Dashing off a message through former information and broadcasting minister Ajit Panja, Sonia summoned Mamata Banerjee for a meeting.
After her meeting with Sonia on Monday, Mamata accused senior Congress leaders of ruining the party's chances in the state, indicating that the Sonia formula has failed despite the efforts of Congress general secretary Oscar Fernandes.
Further proof of this came at today's media conference, where she dared Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee and Kesri to resign their Rajya Sabha seats and contest the general election.
Asked whether she would accommodate them in her Trinamool Congress, Banerjee quipped amidst laughter, ''First let them resign and fill up the membership application forms of our party and then we will consider.''
As if to rub the message in, she said, ''I believe in Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad's Congress, but not in the Kesri Congress.''
As for Sonia, Mamata said she respects her. ''Sonia asked me to ensure that the Congress votes were not divided.''
In the same breath, she said that her Trinamool Congress was 'the real party' and that she and her followers would never compromise with the Congress on the issue of self-respect.
In any case, time is running out for the Congress as the stormy petrel is meeting the election commissioners tomorrow to seek a separate symbol for her Trinamool Congress.
Asked to spell out her party's programmes, she sounded confused. ''Our first programme is the upliftment of the poor and women's reservation.''
Asked about rumours that she was about to join the BJP, Banerjee ruled out an alliance with the party. She denied meeting any BJP leader. ''The BJP is a non-entity in West Bengal.''
Mamata, however, said that her Trinamool Congress did not consider any party an 'untouchable' as they were recognised parties.
EARLIER REPORT:
Kesri furious with Mamata's demand
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