UPA wobbles as Mamata says Congress colluding with Left

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) Chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress. Mamata accused the party of working in tandem with the Left against her party.

"The CP(M) and the Congress are blocking the road together. Everyday Congress supporters are abusing me on the streets. But I have never said anything against the PM or Sonia Gandhi and I would never do that. The critism should be issue based rather than attacking me personally, " alleged Mamata.

Even though the Congress is resigned to the fact that Mamata can spring surprises on it, this one shook the Congress.

The Congress, still smarting from the Lokpal u-turn by Trinamool, was cautious but curt in its response.

Congress Spokesperson Manish Tewari said, "Don't understand context of statement. The Congress in alliance with the Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Delhi and the Centre but its true in past because of congruence of secular forces Left and Congress were once together."

The Mamata fury has halted several key decisions.

In the backdrop of Mamata's threat of a pullout, the government has put on hold fuel hike twice. FDI in retail and airlines has been deferred too.

Pension bill was not tabled in the Winter Session and Teesta water agreement with Bangladesh too faced the Mamata hitch.

And recently the Lokpal Bill ended in abrupt adjournment of Rajya Sabha with Mamata rejecting the Lokayukta clause.

Faced with this comes the speculation that Congress is open to the idea of an alternative ally - if Samajwadi Party (SP) and Congress do well in UP elections, then SP with 22 seats could be a replacement for Trinamool and it's perhaps this talk which is adding to Mamata's anger.

It is for this reason that the Congress is realising that it needs to strengthen its organisation so that dependance on allies reduces. Along with this is the harsh reality that Mamata doesn't need the Congress as much as they need her.

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