This Article is From Mar 14, 2012

Mamata sends minister to Punjab, but none to PM's dinner

Mamata sends minister to Punjab, but none to PM's dinner
New Delhi: Mamata Banerjee has sent a three-member delegation led by her close aide and Central minister Mukul Roy for the Akali Dal-BJP swearing in in Punjab today. To a dinner hosted by the Prime Minister last evening that she pointedly skipped, Ms Banerjee sent no minister, only MP, Ratna De Nag. The ruling Congress is in a spin trying to figure out just what political message its key partner the Trinamool is sending out now.

Ms Banerjee could not make it for the PM's dinner, being seen as the government's effort to rebuild bridges with allies, as she chose to fly to Nagpur instead to attend the wedding of the daughter of the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice JN Patel. Dinesh Trivedi, the Trinamool's one Cabinet rank Minister who presents the Railway Budget in Parliament today, was also not present at his PM's dinner. Amid reports that the UPA is on shaky ground, Mamata Banerjee's open snub has fuelled more speculation that the coalition is now very fragile.

The Trinamool Congress tried to play down Mamata's cold shoulder last night, 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 so far resolutely stated that she will not destabilise the UPA government and that she is not seeking to regroup in a new political equation. But her actions are contrary to that claim. As Chief Minister of West Bengal, she has captained a team of ten chief ministers who have objected to the NCTC on the grounds that its powers encroach upon those of state governments, forcing the Centre to delay the commissioning of the NCTC till an extensive dialogue is completed with states.  Late last year, she forced the government to suspend its reforms in retail just days after they were announced. 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.

Then, in what is mourning season for partner Congress after a very poor show in the recent Assembly elections, she accepted invites to the swearing-in ceremonies for Akhilesh Yadav in UP and the Akali-BJP government in Punjab. Later, she said she would send representatives instead - but those representatives clearly outrank the one she sent for the PM's dinner.

All this as talk of a Third Front with the Samajwadi Party, the Left and Chandrababu Naidu's TDP continues to do the rounds amid many denials.

With her 19 MPs, Ms Trinamool is the second-largest and a rather indispensable partner in the UPA. At last night's dinner, the government too had a message for her and other recalcitrant allies; Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee warned that unless they were more supportive, the government would fall. Mr Mukherjee's warning came after the Trinamool and the DMK filed for amendments in the President's address to a joint session of Parliament. The message to Ms Banerjee was sent through her representative Ms Nag in a type-written, unsigned note that reportedly said that the amendment her party has sought - seeking the deletion of a reference to the new National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC) from the President's speech - is embarrassing for the government she partners. The note reportedly stops short of saying that the amendment must be withdrawn.

The DMK has moved a notice for amendment seeking that the President's speech clearly spell out the government's stand on alleged war crimes in Sri Lanka. 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.

At the dinner, Mr Mukherjee reportedly made clear that if allies persisted with their amendments, they would be playing into the Opposition's hands.

The BJP has also 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 Trinamool would find it difficult to support the government - party chief Ms Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, has been the Group Captain for ten 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 last night's dinner meeting, Home Minister P Chidambaram said allies had been told 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. Mr Chidambaram said, "The Finance minister impressed upon the leaders that all members should be present in the House because there are three crucial items of business. One, is the motion of thanks to the President's address, the second is the railway budget and the third is the general budget. There is a fair chance that there could be voting on occasions when these three subjects are taken up and therefore, he requested that all leaders ensure that their members are present in the house and vote along with the government. We all agree that there should be greater co-ordination." Towards better coordination, it was 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 TMCand the DMK have repeatedly accused the Congress-led government of not consulting them on key policy decisions and blamed it for poor coordination.

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