Mamata ready to back CPI(M) on no-trust, but Left snubs her

Desperately seeking support to bring a no-confidence motion against the UPA government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that she was ready to visit Alimuddin Street, the CPM headquarters, for the purpose. However, the Left snubbed her citing numbers.

Mamata has already had talks with the BJP and CPI (M) on tabling a no-confidence motion in Parliament. "This (corruption) is a national issue and I have no ego with anyone. If the CPM has any problem backing our no-trust motion, they can table it and we will not hesitate to support it. I can even go to Alimuddin Street to discuss this issue with Biman Bose. But the CPM has to promise that it will not backtrack and strike a deal with the Congress," Mamata said at the Writers' Buildings on Tuesday.

The Congress criticised her statement. "It is double standards," WBPCC president Pradip Bhattcharya said at Haldia.

An hour after Mamata made the statement, Biman Bose ridiculed it saying the Left did not have the numbers to place the motion. "Anybody is welcome here. But when you jump on a ground you have to see whether it is soft or dry, otherwise you may suffer an injury. The TMC has only 19 members. We took a decision on November 12 that we would table a resolution opposing FDI in retail. That way we can expose the government and if it loses, it would be a loss of face. When the motion will be tabled, parties who do not support the FDI but want the government to continue will support the UPA and the government will have a second lease of life,'' Bose said at a press conference.

He added that a no-confidence motion will only help the UPA to get legitimacy in Parliament as they will be able to defeat it. "Number is a factor. A no-confidence motion cannot be moved with less than 50 MPs... When the BJP was in power they implemented the FDI; when the Congress is in power they have done the same. The BJP, Congress and TMC protect the interest of the same class," he said.

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