M A I N   N E W S

Delhi unsafe, says Mamata as she returns to Kolkata
Tribune News Service & PTI

New Delhi, April 10
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today cancelled her scheduled meeting with Finance Minister P Chidambaram and flew back to Kolkata even as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered “regret” after she and state Finance Minister Amit Mitra faced the wrath of Left activists on Tuesday, protesting the death of SFI leader Sudipto Gupta in Kolkata. She had also called off her appointment with the PM after the unsavoury incident.

West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee talks to mediapersons in New Delhi on Wednesday. Tribune photo: Mukesh Aggarwal

"Today, I was supposed to have a meeting with the Finance Minister... but I am returning to Kolkata. I was unwell since last evening and had to be administered oxygen. I will come back, but Delhi is not a safe place. I am sorry," she told reporters here before leaving for Kolkata.

She said soon after she cancelled her meeting with the Prime Minister last night, Manmohan Singh called her up and apologised for the incident outside the Planning Commission. Asked about the details of her conversation with the PM and West Bengal Governor MK Narayanan, Mamata said, “I had an appointment with the PM, which I could not do.

I apologise for that. He also told me that Mamataji, what happened... I also apologise to you... which should not (have) happen(ed) and I think that in Delhi... this is the first time, it is happening".

The Opposition BJP moved in fast to encash upon the fast-developing political scenario. A day after Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi showered Mamata with praise in Kolkata and supported her long-standing demand for more Central funds, party president Rajnath Singh today condemned the attack on her outside the Planning Commission office. Sources said senior BJP leaders were also in touch with Mitra, who had been hospitalised after he was manhandled, to reach out to Mamata.

Even though the TMC is no longer a UPA ally, the Congress-led dispensation at the Centre is doing its bit to keep Mamata in good humour by promising generous funds for her state. Soon after she cancelled her appointment with the Prime Minister saying she was unwell, sources said the PM called her up to inquire into her well being.

Hunting for allies in the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Mamata could prove to be a valuable asset for both the Congress and the BJP. As a pre-poll ally of the UPA in 2009, the TMC contested 26 of 42 seats in West Bengal and won 19. This time, Mamata seems to be aiming for all 42 seats, but sources say she may strike a pre-poll bargain with the Congress provided she is satisfied with the doles extended to her by the Centre.

Even though the BJP is also reaching out to the TMC as a potential partner, Mamata is likely to maintain a distance for the time being. Even though she has had a tie-up with the saffron party before, but with Modi assuming centrestage she would not risk losing the substantial Muslim votes in West Bengal.

Left parties, meanwhile, condemned the attack on Mamata and her Cabinet minister but also criticised the “widespread violence throughout West Bengal by TMC followers against the Left Parties in the name of counter protest”. “The incident at the Planning Commission office was uncalled for and it damaged the cause for which they were fighting,” the CPI said. The CPM “disapproved and condemned” the incident and assured that the party would investigate. It, however, also asked the TMC leadership to immediately take steps to restore peace in West Bengal. 

Murderous attack: Trinamool MP
Giving a new twist to the incident, Trinamool MP Sukhendu Shekar Roy claimed it was a "murderous attack" on Mamata Banerjee. "It was a murderous attempt on the life of Mamata and three other Cabinet ministers, especially Amit Mitra," he said, adding that it was "a pre-planned attack on the eve of Panchayat elections to create a situation so that the demand for Central forces can be justified”.

A pre-meditated assault: Governor
The shocking pre-meditated assault on the Chief Minister, the Finance Minister and other senior ministers of West Bengal in the National Capital is an extremely unfortunate incident and a blot on India's cherished democratic values. — MK Narayanan, West Bengal Governor