Congress-Left to move no-confidence motion against TMC govt in West Bengal
Congress and Left parties to move a no-confidence motion against the TMC govt to protest against the alleged rigging of the civic polls and the police assault on Left supporters
Kolkata: The opposition parties in West Bengal are to move a no-confidence motion against the Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in a bid to register their protest against the alleged rigging of the municipal polls and the police assault on supporters of the Left Front and journalists on Monday.
The Congress and the Left parties are to jointly move the motion though they do not have the numbers to dislodge the government. They have around 70 legislators in an assembly of 295.
In the recently held municipal elections in the state, the Congress and the Left parties were completely decimated. They alleged ruling Trinammol Congress rigged the election while the administration, including the state election commission, looked the other way.
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On Monday, a protest march organised by 18 Left organisations led to violence on the streets of Kolkata. The police alleged they were compelled to use force, while Left leaders said protestors were attacked unprovoked. Several journalists were also beaten up. The administration has since apologised for the attack on journalists.
News agency PTI quoted Congress legislator Manoj Chakraborty as saying that the move was aimed at registering protest against “dictatorial functioning" of the state government on the floor of the assembly.
The Congress’s decision to join the Left parties to move a no-confidence motion in the assembly comes at a time when its central leadership is holding talks with chief minister Mamata Banerjee to form a national alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the presidential election.
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Recently, Banerjee asked her party workers not to get into conflicts with Congress supporters. She said she would “deal" with the Congress herself, days after she met Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. On Wednesday, she left for New Delhi and is expected to meet Gandhi again on Friday.
West Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Choudhury had said Banerjee couldn’t determine his party’s agenda in West Bengal. One of Choudhury’s close aides on Wednesday said the local unit is “unhappy" about the party’s central leadership trying to form an alliance with Banerjee. This person asked not to be named.
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