On the third day of her five-day visit to the national capital, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday at the latter’s residence 10, Janpath. Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was also present in the meeting.
This was the first meeting of these leaders after the West Bengal Assembly elections where they contested as rivals. After the meeting, Mamata Banerjee told reporters outside 10, Janpath that the meeting was “positive”.
She said that she discussed the political situation in the country as well as Opposition unity with the Gandhis. “Soniaji invited me for a cup of tea and Rahulji was also there. We discussed Pegasus and the Covid situation in the country. We also discussed the unity of the Opposition. It was a very good meeting, a positive meeting. To defeat the BJP, everybody needs to come together. Everyone will have to work together,” Mamata Banerjee said.
While talking about the Pegasus snooping issue which has become a sore point between the Modi government and the Opposition parties, Mamata Banerjee said, “Why is the government not replying on the Pegasus issue? If there is no discussion in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha (on Pegasus), where will this discussion be held? Discussions are held in Parliament, not at tea stalls.”
This is Mamata Banerjee’s first visit to New Delhi after winning the bitterly fought Assembly elections of her state. In a bid to unite Opposition parties against the ruling BJP in the next Lok Sabha elections 2014, she has been reaching out to Opposition leaders. After meeting the Gandhis, she met Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The meeting lasted for almost an hour.
Mamata Banerjee’s meeting with the Gandhis assumes significance as she has emerged as a crucial figure in the Opposition camp to take on the mighty BJP in the next general elections. Though there is speculation about her nurturing ambitions about becoming the face of the joint Opposition against Prime Minister Narender Modi, she denied such talk when asked after the meeting with Sonia Gandhi. “To defeat the BJP, all of us have to come together and work together,” she said. When she was repeatedly asked about who will be the face of the opposition, she said, “I am not a leader, but I am a cadre. I am a street person. I will work as a worker.”