The Trinamool Congress has decided to make a token presence in the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi with Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee giving the go-ahead to two of her colleagues, one from the State Government and one from the party to attend the programme.
Coming down from its earlier rigid stance, the Trinamool has decided to send State Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Rajya Sabha member Mukul Roy to represent the Government and the party respectively as a mark of courtesy, senior leader and Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said on Friday.The decision came after a personal invitation came from Modi to Banerjee, insiders said adding the Chief Minister would, however, not attend the function as “she has other prior appointments.”
Hakim told the media on Friday that, “Dr Amit Mitra would represent the Government and Mr Mukul Roy would represent the party in the swearing-in programme on May 26.” He, however, would not comment on the other party MPs who were likely to take oath in early June, insiders said.
“A letter from Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi to the Chief Minister inviting her to attend the swearing-in ceremony reached the State Secretariat on Friday. Finance Minister Amit Mitra and Trinamool general secretary Mukul Roy will attend the programme on behalf of the Chief Minister since she has a pre-scheduled programme, that to celebrate Kazi Nazrul Islam’s birth anniversary,” Hakim said.
Modi in his letter to the Chief Minister wrote that he was “writing this to cordially invite you at the swearing-in ceremony” and “seek your blessings and good wishes.”Banerjee who had during her electoral campaigns launched a series of personal attacks against Modi had decided against attending the swearing-in programme.
She had asked her party MPs not to take oath on May 25 and 26. Instead they were to take oath in the first week of June.“That programme remains and the MPs will take oath as scheduled because they have to attend certain party programmes before they go to Delhi,” a senior leader said.Banerjee’s decision to skip the function is read against the backdrop of earlier heated exchanges and personal attacks as well as her party’s compulsions to play to a particular section of the gallery, experts said.
Reacting to Banerjee’s decision to send her representatives to Delhi, Bengal BJP president Rahul Sinha said “It is better late than never.” Taking a dig at the Chief Minister, he said she was not attending the function because “she does not have the courage to face Modiji after attacking him so violently during the elections.”
The Friday’s decision diluting the earlier rigid stance would, however, address both the compulsions, a senior leader said. “It will uphold the political decorum keeping in view the complexities of the Centre-State relations as also address the secular sentiments of a large section of voters,” the veteran leader, who is also a Minister, said.
The Trinamool, which has won 34 lok Sabha seats but not without having to digest allegations of large-scale violence and rigging was concerned about its dwindling vote base. It does not want to risk alienating the minority vote bank, experts said.Meanwhile, even as large-scale post-poll violence continued in the State, Opposition leader Suryakanto Mishra on Friday wrote a letter to the Chief Minister requesting an all-party meeting to stem attacks on the Opposition workers.“Thousands of people have been rendered homeless, in the face of ongoing attacks on our supporters,” Mishra said alleging “the left supporters are being attacked, killed, their houses, crops and cattle looted, women harassed by the rampaging Trinamool workers.”
He said the attackers were “demanding hefty sums from our supporters most of whom are poor men as a fine for voting against the Trinamool Congress. How long can this go on! The Chief Minister must intervene otherwise there will be a complete collapse of the democratic system in the State. So I have written a letter to her seeking her intervention.”