In a fiery address following her party’s triumph in the West Bengal elections, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee hinted that the INDIA bloc could soon take over the reins at the Centre, stating that governments "sometimes last only for a day."
Speaking at the Trinamool Parliamentary Party meeting on Saturday, Banerjee highlighted her party’s refusal to attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s swearing-in ceremony, scheduled for Sunday.
She criticised the formation of the new government as "illegal and undemocratic."
Banerjee's remarks come as PM Modi and the BJP are compelled to rely heavily on allies such as Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU, having secured only 240 seats in the recent Lok Sabha elections, falling short of the 272-seat majority mark by 32.
Taking a jab at the BJP’s predicament, Banerjee noted, "Those who spoke of 400 (Lok Sabha seats) could not get even a simple majority on their own. Don't think just because INDIA has not staked claim, nothing will happen. We are waiting and watching because things change. Ultimately, it will be a new INDIA government, but let them be for a few days. Sometimes, governments last only for a day... Anything can happen, who knows if this government will last even 15 days?"
The INDIA alliance managed to secure 232 Lok Sabha seats, buoyed by a revitalized Congress and strong performances from allies like the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, and DMK.
Despite this impressive showing, the alliance remains short of the majority needed to form the government.
Banerjee’s comments align with the sentiments expressed by other INDIA bloc leaders. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, after an alliance meeting on Thursday, stated that the INDIA alliance would take appropriate steps at the right time to "realise the people's desire not to be ruled by the BJP."
Continuing her critique of the BJP, Banerjee demanded the repeal of laws passed using "brute force," specifically citing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).
On the topic of the oath-taking ceremony, Banerjee firmly stated, "We cannot give them best wishes as they are forming a government illegally and undemocratically. They will try and break parties again. But they will break from within as many people are unhappy... We have not received an invite for the swearing-in ceremony and we will not go."
Banerjee also invited all INDIA bloc members to Kolkata for a meeting, highlighting the protracted nature of the election process in West Bengal, which spanned from April 19 to June 1. "The election process cannot go on for two months. We demand this change in the interest of the people," she emphasised.
The Trinamool Congress emerged victorious in 29 of the state's 42 Lok Sabha seats, a significant increase from 22 in 2019, while the BJP’s tally decreased from 18 to 12.
At the party meeting on Saturday, Banerjee was elected the chairperson of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party. Sudip Bandyopadhyay was named the party’s leader in the Lok Sabha, with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the deputy leader.
In the Rajya Sabha, the party will continue to be led by Derek O'Brien, with first-time MP Sagarika Ghosh as the deputy leader.
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