Mamata pledges support to UPA government

The Trinamool Congress parliamentary party on Monday unanimously elected Mamata Banerjee as its leader and pledged its support to the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the Centre.

Newly-elected Members of Parliament Sultan Ahmed and Govinda Chandra Naskar have been unanimously elected deputy leaders of the Trinamool parliamentary party.

Announcing this after the meeting of the Trinamool Congress parliamentary party, Mamata said it had passed a resolution pledging support to the United Progressive Alliance government, which was being sent to President Pratibha Patil. Party general secretary and Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Mukul Roy would carry the resolution tonight, she said.

On her party's ministerial berths, Banerjee said, "There is no need to talk about which ministry we want. We never asked anything from anyone."

She said she had already stated on Sunday that the Trinamool Congress would not go for any bargaining. "We will do whatever is good for the people," she added.

All the newly-elected 19 MPs of the party attended the meeting, besides its two Rajya Sabha members Roy and Swapan Sadhan Bose. Tarun Mondal, the lone MP of Trinamool Congress' ally Socialist Unity Centre of India, was also present.

Mamata said with the support of the SUCI member, Trinamool would have a block of 20 members in the Lok Sabha. She said the SUCI had ideological differences with the Congress and had contested against the Congress in a few states.

"But the Congress has worked for the SUCI candidate in Joynagar constituency and I hope they will be with us," she added.

Mamata said she is likely to leave for New Delhi in a day or two. Banerjee said she had a talk with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and "all our MPs will be present in Delhi whenever they are asked to".

She said the parliamentary party had passed a resolution, expressing thanks and gratitude to the people who resisted the Communist Party of India – Marxist's 'terror' to vote for Trinamool Congress.

Asked as to why she was not repeating her demand for the resignation of Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharjee, Banerjee said, "The government is totally dependent on state- sponsored terrorism and democratic ethics required that they respect the people's verdict".

"I have already said that the people have expressed their lack of confidence on the CPI-M Left Front government. I will not say anything more. They have lost the credibility and people's faith. Out of 294 assembly segments, they have lost in 207, including those represented by 27 ministers," she said.