TMC claims Mamata's statement misinterprated by Cong, CPI(M); Oppn walks out of Assembly

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee reached out to the Congress and the CPI(M) for a united fight against the BJP, the TMC claimed in the Assembly on Thursday that the opposition parties had misinterpreted her appeal, while the two parties staged a walkout alleging contradictory statements by the ruling party.

Minister of State for State Parliamentary Affairs Tapas Roy claimed that Banerjee's views were misinterpreted in the media and by the opposition parties.

"Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had never called for any alliance with the Left Front and the Congress in Bengal. She had said that in view of the prevailing situation in the country, all of us should work jointly.

"The Left and the Congress have misinterprated her statements. This should not have been done," Roy told the Assembly.

Speaker Biman Banerjee also said the opposition should not have misinterpreted the chief minister's statement made on the floor of the House.

Following this, the CPI(M) legislators, led by their legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty, trooped down to the well and demanded that they be allowed to clarify as the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) was making "contradictory statements".

The MLAs of the Left party and the Congress then walked out of the Assembly shouting slogans against the TMC government.

"We were not allowed to speak on the point of order and present our side of the story. If we had misinterpreted her (Banerjee's) statement or the media had misinterpreted it, then the speaker should have issued a privilege motion against us. Instead, we were not allowed to present our side of the story," Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan of the Congress said.

His views were echoed by Chakraborty.

Later, Roy told reporters that the ruling party decided to speak on the chief minister's statement as her views were misinterpreted.

"If the chief minister's statement is misinterpreted, then it is our duty to correct it," he asserted.

Banerjee reached out to the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from the floor of the House on Wednesday to join her fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but the two parties rejected her appeal, saying it was her policies which were responsible for the saffron party's growth in West Bengal.

"The people of the state are witnessing in Bhatpara (a scene of recurring violence between BJP and TMC workers since the Lok Sabha polls) what happens if you vote for the BJP. I feel all of us (TMC, Congress and CPI-M) should come together in the fight against the BJP. It does not mean we have to join hands politically. But on common issues at the state and national levels, we can come together," Banerjee had said.

The TMC supremo had also said all the 23 opposition parties should unitedly fight against malfunctioning of electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Her appeal was rejected by the CPI(M) and the Congress, which blamed her for the BJP's growth in the state.

"We do not need lessons from Mamata Banerjee on ways to fight the BJP. It is due to her policies that the BJP has gained ground in Bengal. She should first accept that it is due to her fault that the BJP has made inroads in Bengal." Mannan had said.

Chakraborty had called the TMC a sinking ship and said Banerjee should not daydream about the CPI(M) joining hands with her to save her vessel.