Prez poll: 'Ma-Mati-Manush of Bengal won't forgive Mamata'

With the Trinamool Congress still undecided on whom to support in the July 19 presidential election, two influential Congress MPs on Monday urged the Congress high command to break the alliance with Mamata Banerjee's party and allow Congress to go it alone in West Bengal.

Emerging from a meeting with UPA presidential candidate Pranab Mukherjee in Kolkata on Monday, Congress MPs Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Deepa Dasmunshi lashed out at the TMC for "spreading canards" against Sonia Gandhi and Pranab Mukherjee and demanded immediate severance of all ties with the party.

"We have been observing with concern that the day Pranabda's name was announced as presidential candidate, a systematic campaign was launched to malign Soniaji and Pranabda," Deepa Dasmunshi, MP from Raigung, told media persons.

Chowdhury (MP from Berhampore) alleged that the TMC wanted to "take Congress for granted" adding "Congress is not the flag-bearer of any political party".

"Ma-Mati-Manush of Bengal will not forgive Trinamool Congress for not supporting the candidature of Pranab Mukherjee and hurling abuses against him," he said.

Asserting that Pranab Mukherjee's election as President "is a foregone conclusion", Chowdhury said this had not been "palatable to Mamata Banerjee who has taken refuge in Facebook".

Deepa Dasmunshi said she had urged Shakeel Ahmed, Congress general secretary in charge of West Bengal, that the "high command should immediately take a decision to save us from humiliation and allow us to fight Trinamool Congress from a political platform".