New Delhi:
A dinner for UPA allies at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's home on Tuesday ended with a serious message for Mamata Banerjee, who skipped the meeting and sent instead not one of the Trinamool Congress ministers in the UPA government, but MP Ratna De Nag.
Ms Nag arrived at the dinner late, to be handed a type-written, unsigned note for Mamata Banerjee that reportedly said that an amendment her party has sought in Parliament is embarrassing for the government she partners. The note reportedly stops short of saying that the amendment - seeking the deletion of a reference to the new National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from the President's speech to Parliament yesterday - be withdrawn.
But at the dinner meeting, sources said, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee made clear that if the Trinamool persisted with the amendment and there was a vote on it, the UPA government could fall. When Ms Nag said that her party did not intend to destabilise the government, Mr Mukherjee reportedly pointed out that though the UPA's allies might not willfully want the government in trouble, such moves would only have the Opposition taking advantage of the situation.
That is already happening. The BJP too has reportedly sought an amendment similar to the Trinamool's on the mention of the NCTC in the President's speech, and the main opposition party wants a vote on that amendment. In case of a vote, the TMC would find it difficult to support the government - party chief Ms Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, has been the Group Captain for 10 chief ministers who have objected to the NCTC on the grounds that its powers encroach upon those of state governments. The Centre has delayed the commissioning of the NCTC till an extensive dialogue is completed with states.
After the dinner meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram said it had been impressed upon all allies that members of their party must be present in Parliament to vote with the government and help it push through important legislation in the Budget Session that began on Monday. It was also decided that all UPA allies would meet every day in Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Bansal's room for better floor coordination in Parliament. Partners like the TMC and the DMK have repeatedly accused the Congress-led government of not consulting them on key policy decisions and blamed it for poor coordination.
The DMK too put the government in a spot on Tuesday by moving amendments seeking that the President's address reflect India's stand on alleged war crimes by the Sri Lankan government. A resolution backed by the US against reported atrocities will come up within the next few days at the United Nations Human Rights Council at Geneva. The DMK has said India must vote against Sri Lanka. The party also wants the President's address to refer to the repeated arrests by Sri Lanka of fishermen from Tamil Nadu.
Tuesday's dinner is being seen as the government's effort to rebuild bridges amid reports that the coalition is on shaky ground. Mamata Banerjee's open snub in sending a relatively junior representative to the important dinner adds to the speculation that the coalition is very fragile. The TMC has since tried to play down Mamata's cold shoulder, with Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien tweeting, "Dr Ratna Nag who attended PM dinner is our Deputy Leader in Lok Sabha. She is a lady & in our party we respect all. She's a key member of TMC."
Ms Banerjee has also denied interest in exiting the government or in exploring political options, but her actions have suggested otherwise. While Ms Banerjee chose not to send a minister to the PM's dinner, she is sending close aide and Union Minister Mukul Roy to Punjab CM Parkash Singh Badal's swearing-in later today.
Talk of a Third Front with the Samajwadi Party, the Left and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP continues to do the rounds.
Ms Banerjee late last year forced the government to suspend its reforms in retail just days after they were announced. With her 19 MPs, she is an indispensable partner in the UPA. She also accused the Centre of violating the principles of federalism late last year, when the Centre introduced the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill in the Lok Sabha. Though the bill was passed there, it has yet to be cleared by the Rajya Sabha.
Though Ms Banerjee has said that she remains committed to the UPA, her recent gestures suggest she is not closed to exploring other options. She accepted invites to the swearing-in ceremonies for Akhilesh Yadav in UP and the Akali-BJP government in Punjab; the Congress took offence. Later, she said she would send representatives instead.