Beyond party lines

The bonhomie between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and CPI(M) leaders refuses to die down, in spite of Mukherjee’s party — the Congress — being committed to continuing its alliance with CPI(M)’s arch rival the Trinamool Congress. At the end of the core committee meeting convened by the prime minister on food prices, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee left his own car at 7, Race Course Road, and jumped into Mukherjee’s car. The duo came straight to Mukherjee’s office at North Block and spent half an hour in an exclusive meeting. Next day, Bhattacharjee showered praises on Mukherjee on how he was helping the state on various issues. As expected, Trinamool chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee was not very pleased to hear this.