Mamata Banerjee. Photo credit: Subhankar Chakraborty/Hindustan Times via GettyImages.
Mamata Banerjee. Photo credit: Subhankar Chakraborty/Hindustan Times via GettyImages. 
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Now, Mamata Wants To Work With CPI-M To ‘Save The Country’

BySwarajya Staff

Taking her angst against demonetisation of Rs 500/1000 notes to a new level, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Saturday said she is ready to work with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), despite ideological differences with them, “to save the country”. “We may have ideological differences with CPI-M but we are ready to work with it, Congress, SP, BSP to save the country. The anti-people Modi government has imposed an undeclared emergency in the country,” said Mamata in a press conference in Kolkata.

Not long ago, Mamata had accused CPI-M, which has often used violence and murder as a political instrument in an organised manner, of joining hands with the Maoists to kill her.

Mamata, who was elected Chief Minister of West Bengal after she pulled off a landslide victory for the TMC-Congress alliance in West Bengal, defeating the 34-year-old CPI-M led Left Front after it became widely unpopular. TMC successfully tapped into people’s anger against the Left Front in the 2011 and again in 2016. Now, Mamata’s move to join hands with the CPI-M, the party that people of the state rejected, is not being welcomed by the masses.

Following her statement, people took to Twitter to vent their anger.

However, CPI-M has rejected the overture saying it will not join hands with a party which has tainted ministers and Parliament members. Tapes aired by Narada News in March purportedly showed several high profile Trinamool leaders accepting bribes.

On Sunday, Mamata called up CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, seeking his support against the centre’s demonetisation drive, but to no avail. She is also scheduled to meet the President later this week to talk about the "grim situation" across the nation since the demonetisation of November 8.

Now political parties — Samajwadi Party, BSP, AAP and even Congress — have joined in protest of the move. Foes seem to have turned into friends for Mamata as she ups her drive against the Prime Minister’s effort to fight black money.