TMC Exodus: Left & Congress Want Ruling Party To Prove Majority In Bengal Assembly

Kolkata: The newly-minted Left-Congress alliance has written to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urging her to prove her majority in the Assembly in the wake of Trinamool Congress ministers and MLAs continuing to quit the party.

The alliance has been formed to keep the ruling party and BJP at bay in the polls, which are due in the state in April-May. They had joined forces ahead of the 2016 assembly polls and 2019 general elections, but were no match for the TMC and BJP.

Senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan said that the ‘drama of defections’ from TMC to BJP has been continuing for some time, so it has become necessary for the ruling party to prove that it still has majority in the 294-seat Assembly.

“Almost every day there is a defection. Even the common people are confused whether the TMC still has the majority in the House or not. If the number of legislators is more in BJP than the TMC, then Trinamool doesn’t have the right to continue in the government. Hence an Assembly session is needed immediately,” Mannan claimed.

He added that if the TMC doesn’t call a session, the Congress and Left will organise a march towards the state secretariat soon.

Leader of the Left Front in the House Sujan Chakraborty said that the chief minister seems to be scared to face the opposition in the Assembly.

“She has been announcing different doles for the people of West Bengal without getting it approved by the legislators. She should at least pay heed to the views of the opposition in regard to her populist measures,” added Chakraborty.

He also alleged that the CM had been hitting the streets on different issues across the state but is yet to come out with a positive formula for the peasants of West Bengal to counter the ‘devilish’ farm bills brought in by the BJP-led central government.

Notably, Banerjee had earlier said that every state should have the right to either implement or rule out the three agricultural laws.

Chakraborty said that while Punjab, Rajasthan and Kerala have already framed their own bills to ensure the minimum support price (MSP) for their farmers, Mamata is yet to act to ensure farmers’ protection.

Asked whether they would move a ‘no-confidence motion’ in the Assembly as proposed by Mannan, Chakraborty said: “First, let the House be summoned before we consider moving the no-confidence motion. The West Bengal Assembly has precedence during the Left Front regime of formulating laws against the Centre by taking the House into confidence.”

With senior BJP leaders claiming that more defections are in the offing, it would be interesting to see Trinamool tackles the challenge.

Also Read: Congress-Left Alliance To Continue For West Bengal Assembly Polls