Due to 'dirty politics', Mamata to skip opposition's anti-CAA meeting
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will fight the battle against the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act alone, and will not attend a meeting of opposition convened on January 13, she announced today at a special session of the state assembly. The matriarch of Trinamool claimed Left and Congress were playing "dirty politics". With this decision, Mamata has brought opposition rift out in open.
CAA, a law that will give preferential treatment to persecuted religious minorities from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan in getting Indian citizenship, is being criticized. The opposition claimed it went against India's secular fabric and lent their support to protesting citizens. However, BJP reiterated it won't move an inch on CAA and blamed the opposition for fanning violence for political benefits.
Mamata's voice against CAA was perhaps the loudest among politicians. In the last few weeks, she led several rallies, crooned jingles, and assured repeatedly she won't implement the law in her state. The National Register of Citizens (NRC), aimed at weeding illegal immigrants out, also invited her ire. But disdain for BJP is clearly not enough for Mamata to join the opposition's boat.
Charging at Congress and Left, Mamata sought forgiveness from other parties for not attending the meeting, especially since she floated the idea. "But what happened yesterday in the state it is no more possible for me to attend the meeting anymore," she said.
Mamata was referring to Wednesday's bandh called by Left trade unions, which turned violent in many parts of Bengal. In Malda's Sujapur, bandh supporters blocked National Highway and set many police vehicles on fire, forcing cops to resort to firing teargas shells and rubber bullets. While Trinamool blamed Left and Congress, both parties distanced themselves from the violence.
Mamata has chosen to stay away from opposition's meeting but before Lok Sabha polls of May 2019, she widely advocated taking on the BJP together. Before elections, Mamata invited a plethora of opposition leaders to her home state and made a case for a non-BJP government at the Centre. The plan didn't take off, and eventually, all opposition parties, including Trinamool, faced a humiliating defeat.
