Didi calls up rivals, urges them to 'unite' against BJP

A day after she expressed willingness to work with arch rival Communist Party of India-Marxist on the Centre’s demonetisation of high-value currency notes, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday called the left party's general secretary, Sitaram Yechury, and other leaders, urging them to wage a ‘united fight’ against the Bharatiya Janata Party and its ‘anti-people policies;.

‘Today I spoke with several political leaders regarding a joint movement and to meet Rashtrapati Ji together. Let us all fight this together to give relief to common citizens, the poor and stop this financial anarchy (sic),’ the West Bengal CM tweeted.

‘This is not an ego battle. I humbly appeal again to the Govt at the Centre. Save the common people from more suffering,and the country from financial catastrophe, by withdrawing this hasty decision. 1st pl put a proper action plan in place. Breathing space for people (sic),’ she said in a series of tweets.

A senior CPI-M leader, however, gave her a rebuff, describing the call as a ‘desperate call’ to save her own party leaders who were allegedly involved in corruption.

“Yes, today Mamata Banerjee called Sitaram Yechury and told him that all the opposition parties should come together to put up a united fight against the BJP. Yechury replied that since he was travelling, he could only comment on the matter after discussing it in the party," CPI-M politburo member Mohammed Salim said.

He described Banerjee's phone call as a ‘desperate call’ to save her own party leaders who were involved in ‘corruption’.

"This is a desperate call and an attempt to save her own party leaders who are allegedly involved in the Saradha and Narada scams. What is the credibility of the Trinamool Congress? How can they talk about fighting against black money when her (Mamata's) own party leaders are involved in the Saradha scam and have been arrested,” Salim said.

“When her own party leaders have been involved in Narada, this is nothing but a political gimmick. Those running their party in West Bengal through corruption should not talk much about black money,” he added.

Salim alleged that a ‘political match-fixing’ was going on between the TMC and the BJP and that was why the Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the Saradha scam had ‘gone slow’ over the last one-and-a-half years.

"They should first come clean on the Saradha scam and then talk about black money," the CPI-M leader said.