What Irked Mamata Banerjee At I.N.D.I.A’s Mumbai Meet?

Looks like I.N.D.I.A front of Opposition leaders is being betrayed from those within. At a time when it seemed a good beginning had been made with the setting up of coordination committees and working groups, no one expected it would be filled with lightweights — barring Sharad Pawar. There was a suggestion from TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee to involve CMs — at least in the election strategy group. For some reason it was scuttled by RJD leader Lalu Prasad who didn’t want Nitish Kumar on the panel. Didi who wanted to host the next I.N.D.I.A event in Kolkata found no takers as it was shot down by CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury as he explained that Left could not be seen in a function hosted by the TMC. Rejection of Kolkata as venue was enough to irk Mamata. She found it odd that Communist leaders had no problem in rubbing shoulders with the TMC or the Congress in Delhi or Bengaluru but not in the home turf of Bengal or Kerala. Mamata also did not approve of the unilateral manner in which Rahul Gandhi raked up the Adani issue at the Opposition event without consulting other parties. The TMC chief had initially pointed to the Congress about the Left and Congress virulently campaigning against TMC for the September 5 Dhupguri assembly by-poll. In fact, Mamata had specially sent her nephew Abhishek to Delhi to complain to Rahul about the tone and tenor of the Left-Congress campaign.