NCTC worse than POTA,TADA: Mamata conveys reservations to PM

“There is no breaking news,” she remarked when asked whether there was any breakup or breakdown of the Trinamool Congress with the Congress-led UPA.

Banerjee also defended her party’s walk out in the Lok Sabha on the NCTC saying since the Trinamool Congress was part of the Government it can not vote against and therefore it has maintained decorum by walking out. “The NCTC is worse than TADA and POTA,” she said.

Her meeting with Prime Minister appeared to have the desired result. Mukul Roy,whom the Trinamool Congress has named as Cabinet Minister to succeed Dinesh Trivedi as Railway Minister,will be sworn-in tomorrow.

Banerjee,who forced Trivedi to quit as the Railway Minister after he proposed hike in the passenger fares in the Railway budget,indicated that there will be some roll back if there is a Railway Minister of the Trinamool Congress.

“If our nominee will become Railway Minister then we will modify the fares. There is no problem in the hike in upper class fares. We have no objection…it is tolerable. But for those who are poor,who travel daily in trains or those who travel in sleeper classes,it matters,” she said before going to attend the Trinamool Parliamentary party meeting here.

She further said,”Common people travel in sleeper classes. Whatever we do,the common people should not suffer. This is our policy.”

Banerjee said she has no plans to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi who is also UPA Chairperson as “she is not well. I do not want to disturb her,” Banerjee said.

Replying to a question,Banerjee whose party with 19 MPs is the second largest constituent of the UPA after Congress,said that “Federal Front is already there. We have ties with all the states.”

Replying to questions,Banerjee said that her meeting with Prime Minister was cordial but declined to divulge the issues raised by her.

Banerjee said that West Bengal has been strongly pleading with the Centre for a three-year moratorium on loan repayment as it has been caught in a difficult situation.

The problem has arisen as the Left Front,which was in power earlier,had not implemented the Fiscal Responsibility Act which her government has done,she said.

Asked whether she wanted a Coordination Committee for the UPA to thrash out issues before a decision is taken,she merely noted that the ruling alliance has completed three years without such a mechanism.

“Ask Soniaji”,she countered when queried whether there were moves to expand the UPA in the backdrop of reports that the Congress was wooing Samajwadi Party to join the government in the wake of the outcome in the recent Assembly polls.

She steered clear of questions on the issue of the next President of India including whether he could be from West Bengal. “The election of the President is still a few months away”. Pratibha Patil is retiring in July.

With Dinesh Trivedi sitting close to her as also other party MPs,Banerjee alleged that there were attempts to break him from the Trinamool Congress,which have not succeeded.

“We are disciplined and we are transparent”,she said emphasising that attempts to divide her party would not succeed.

When told that Kabir Suman has turned out to be a rebel MP,Banerjee shot back,”He is not politically minded. That is the problem with him”.