Resignation stands: Mamata
Tribune
News Service and agencies
CALCUTTA/NEW DELHI, Nov
4— Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, who
quit the Coordination Committee of the BJP and its
allies, today said that her resignation "still
stands".
Ms Banerjee told reporters
after a discussion with the Defence Minister and
Coordination Committee convener, George Fernandes, who
flew in here at the directive of Prime Minister Atal
Behari Vajpayee that her resignation was not her
decision, but that of the party.
"In the next meeting
of our party’s working committee, we will discuss
the issue. We will convey our sentiments to the
people," Ms Banerjee said.
Mr Fernandes on the other
hand said that his discussion with her was
"fruitful".
"We discussed various
issues, including the convening of the Coordination
Committee meeting by the end of this month," he
said.
Ms Banerjee said that she
was grateful to the Prime Minister because he had not
accepted my resignation. "We have respect for him.
The Prime Minister is a sensible man, but he is a victim
of circumstances," she added.
Both Ms Mamata Banerjee
and Mr George Fernandes said that a conspiracy was on to
destabilise the Vajpayee Government, but refused to name
the plotters.
"Forces inside and
outside the country, who are not reconciled to the
verdict given by the people in the last Lok Sabha
elections, are at work to destabilise the
government," they said.
Mr Fernandes warned the
rumour-mongers and said that there was no shortage of
foodgrain in the country.
Meanwhile, a report from
Delhi said a three-member Trinamool Congress delegation
today met the Prime Minister, Mr Atal Behari Vajpayee,
and the Union Home Minister, Mr L.K. Advani.
The delegation, comprising
party spokesman, Sudeep Bandopadhya, Dr Ranjeet Panja and
Ms Krishna Basu, discussed with Mr Vajpayee and Mr Advani
the issue of the resignation of Ms Banerjee in protest
against the government’s failure to control the
price rise.
Mr Advani told
mediapersons at Rohtak that he would personally try to
persuade Ms Banerjee to withdraw her resignation from the
Coordination Committee.
Stating that the Trinamool
Congress leaders wanted him to personally speak to her,
Mr Advani said the delegation expressed its concern about
the price rise and told him that their party’s
support to the government was unqualified and would
continue.
Earlier, the Prime
Minister advised the delegation to request Ms Banerjee to
withdraw her resignation. Mr Vajpayee informed the
delegation that the Centre had already called a meeting
of chief secretaries of all states to discuss the issue
of the price rise.
To the complaint that the
Trinamool Congress was not consulted on the
government’s decision to introduce the voluntary
retirement scheme for eight sick public sector units of
which six were in West Bengal, the Prime Minister told
the delegation that it could not be done as it was a
Cabinet decision where secrecy had to be maintained.
Because of this reason, he
was asking Ms Banerjee to join the Cabinet so that she
could also put forward her views, Mr Vajpayee said.
Meanwhile, the Punjab
Chief Minister, Mr Parkash Singh Badal, today said the
Vajpayee Government would last its term and there was no
threat to it.
The government would steer
clear of all problems whether created due to internal
differences or by its adversaries, Mr Badal said in reply
to a question on the resignation of Ms Banerjee from the
Coordination panel. 
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