By IANS,
Kolkata : Describing social activist Anna Hazare and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as “friendless”, Congress leader Somen Mitra Tuesday said the duo’s coming together has no political significance.
“Historically, Mamata Banerjee has been friendless and now she has joined hands with Anna who too is friendless after his disciples deserted him and floated a political party. So their coming together neither assumes any political significance nor will it yield electoral benefits,” Mitra told media persons here.
Asserting that the country will change with Banerjee at the helm, Hazare has decided to canvass for the Trinamool Congress in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Asserting that either the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance or the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance will come to power at the centre, Mitra ridiculed Banerjee’s proposition of a Federal Front.
“She has been clamouring for a Federal Front for long. But we haven’t seen any leader coming to her for the front. This is because nobody has confidence in her. No matter how many seats Trinamool may yearn to get, it will remain a friendless entity,” said Mitra as he also dismissed the probability of a third front which the Left parties have been trying to cobble up.
Incidentally, 11 major non-BJP, non-Congress parties during the day held a meeting in New Delhi in their bid to create a third front.
Mitra, who recently rejoined the Congress, described his stint with the Trinamool as that of a “well fed caged bird”.
“I did not quit Trinamool because I was humiliated or insulted. In Trinamool I was like a caged bird which has no worries about food but yearns to fly in the open sky,” said Mitra, who attacked the Banerjee regime over several issues and ruled out any possibility of a Congress-Trinamool alliance.
Joining the league of several politicos, the former MP also made his foray into the social networking arena launching his official Twitter and Facebook accounts.
“Social networking is great platform to interact with the young generation. It will give me an opportunity to share and exchange ideas with them,” said Mitra.