Continuing her rebellion against the Congress leadership, MP Mamata Banerjee yesterday announced a 116-member steering committee of her newly-flatted Trinamul Congress Committee and proposed to launch a bangla banchao front which might include BJP.
Addressing a press conference in the makeshift office at her residence, with pictures of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi in the background, the leader said that she would launch the proposed front in December to fight the ruling left front.
Evading a direct reply to a question if they would include BJP in the front, apart from other anti-CPI(M) parties, president of Trinamul Congress Pankaj Banerjee, MLA, said that any political party which could contribute to their cause can join the front.
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We are not including BJP, and nor we are excluding it, Banerjee said adding that many small parties had contacted them. The state BJP, however, made said that the party was not interested in joining the proposed front until Banerjee left the Congress: Let her first quit congress, only then BJP would consider joining it, after seeing her programmes, state secretary Rahul Sinha said.
Ridiculing her claim to fight the CPI(M) through the newly-formed outfit, the BJP leader said how could Banerjee fight the CPI(M), when she did not dare to come out of the congress only to retain her membership in Lok Sabha?.
Apart from announcing the steering-committee which included 12 MLAs, Trinamul Congress committee president Pankaj Banerjee said that Sanjay Bakshi, MLA, would
head the Trinamul Youth congress and Mala Roy would be the president of Trinamul Mahila Congress. Parimal Guha was appointed as the president of Trinamul Seva Dal committee.
However, Mamata Banerjee chose to remain only a primary member of the new party but assured whole-hearted cooperation to any movement against the CPI(M).
She said that she did not bother whether or not Congress high command recognised Trinamul Congress committee: but I will not bow my head to them.
Meanwhile, WBPCC general secretary, Pradyut Guha asked her to resign from state youth Congress presidentship and said that she was colluding with the CPI(M).