NEW DELHI: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in the capital to stitch an Opposition alliance ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, asserted on Wednesday that these parties must unite. Saying that regional parties will lead the nation, she added when Narendra Modi fights elections next time, it will be against the country.
During her five-day visit, Mamata has meetings lined up with many Opposition leaders. “I don’t want to be the face (of the Opposition). I want to continue as a worker and we need to work together.”
Speaking about her equations with major Opposition leaders, she said, “I have good relationships with Jagan (Mohan Reddy), Naveen babu (Patnaik), Chandrababu (Naidu), (MK) Stalin, Uddhav (Thackeray), Hemant Soren.” She added that she also had a chat with Lalu Yadav on Tuesday. “If there is a political storm, you won’t be able to stop it,” Mamata said. “Regional parties will lead the nation, we will not bow down before anyone anymore. The time has come.”
Without disclosing details of her meeting with the PM, Mamata said the Pegasus snooping matter is serious. “Why is the Union government not taking action on the Pegasus project? The situation is very serious. There should be also an all party meet to discuss a formula for investigating,” she added.
Mamata met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at the latter’s residence and discussed the political situation, Opposition unity and Pegasus. Rahul Gandhi was present during the meeting. Terming it as a positive interaction, Mamata said, “Opposition unity was discussed. Everyone should come together to take on the BJP. A positive result should come out of this meeting in the near future.” This was the first meeting between Mamata and Sonia after TMC’s win in Bengal, where the parties contested as rivals.
