Ready to quit UPA if not wanted: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday told her party leaders that the Trinamool Congress would not like to pull out of the UPA coalition on its own, but would not hesitate to do so if it felt it was no more wanted (in the coalition). In such a situation, all our ministers should be ready to put in their papers, she said while explaining the emerging scenario regarding the Presidential election to party MLAs and MPs in two separate meetings.

Elaborating on the deliberations at the meetings, the leader of the TMC parliamentary party, Sudip Bandopadhyay, said: "All the Trinamool Congress ministers are mentally prepared to submit their resignation from the UPA government should the situation so demand and if the Congress thinks that we are a burden. It will take just a minute for our ministers to put in their papers."

Some took Monday's public posturing of the TMC as a damage-control exercise while at the same time sending a veiled threat to the Congress.

There is already a buzz within the TMC of a Cabinet reshuffle after the Presidential election and fears of it losing the railway portfolio to the SP.

Clearly, the party's muscle-flexing was aimed at ensuring that the dignity of the TMC as a coalition partner is not lowered further after the embarrassing stand-off over Pranab Mukherjee's nomination for the President's post.

"There is still time. Kalam has let known his stand today of not contesting the election but we still think he is the best candidate and there is still time," said Bandopadhyay.

Late in the evening, there were reports that Banerjee has asked all central ministers from her party to submit their resignation letters to her and be ready to quit.

But Bandopadhyay denied Mamata having issued any such instruction to the TMC central ministers. He, however, asserted: "If we are asked to do so, we will do so in seconds. But the TMC does not want to put the UPA government into any crisis."

... contd.

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