By IANS,
Kolkata: Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Sunday said the alliance with the Congress will not be jeopardised by Congress president Sonia Gandhi and its general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s inability to jointly campaign with her before the third phase elections in West Bengal.
“Why they are not coming, I cannot say,” she told a journalist during a meet-the-press at the Kolkata Press Club here.
Banerjee said she has addressed joint rallies with Sonia Gandhi in Murshidabad district and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Howrah.
“The Congress leaders have campaigned for our party’s candidates. And I have also canvassed support for Congress nominees. This is a small matter. I can’t allow the alliance to be jeopardised on this issue,” she said.
Sonia and Rahul were earlier slated to jointly campaign with Banerjee in the run-up to the May 13 third phase polls in the state covering Kolkata and the surrounding districts North 24-Parganas and South 24-Parganas. However, the meetings did not figure in the final list of election itinerary announced for the two leaders.
On Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’ remarks that he wanted her to join the ministry if the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) returned to power at the centre, Mamata said the Trinamool will take a decision.
“Ministry does not matter to me. If the Congress forms a government, we will give them full support. Our party has an internal committee. We will discuss the matter in the party forum and decide,” Banerjee said.