Anti-graft body must, but PM's inclusion not important: Mamata

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress boss Mamata Banerjee today questioned the need of bringing the Prime Minister within the ambit of the Lok Pal Bill. According to Banerjee, bringing the PM or the higher judiciary under the Lok Pal “hardly matters” in the overall fight against corruption.

Banerjee also looked confident of retaining the railways minister’s portfolio for the party. Even as the Congress brass wants a party man to head the Railways Ministry Banerjee said: “We had just one Cabinet minister in Delhi. I think we will retain that position. There is no pressure from the Congress and I don’t think it will be a problem,” she told reporters at the Press Club of India. On the Singur land issue, Banerjee made it clear that she was ready to sit with the Tatas although she has passed a bill in the assembly to take back the land of the Nano project site. “I don’t want to talk about legal issues in the press conference. But If someone wants to come and talk to us, we will welcome it.”

With UPA ministers in the Lok Pal drafting committee trying to create an overall anti-corruption structure through the Lok Pal, Banerjee, whose party has 19 MPs in Lok Sabha, insisted on a “comprehensive package to check the menace of corruption” at every level.

Banerjee’s assertions comes at a time when the Congress leadership is trying to garner support for its stand against the civil society’s pressure to put the PM under Lok Pal. Banerjee clarified her position hours before meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

“It is not a big question if the Prime Minister or the Chief Justice is included, it hardly matters. Do you think that inclusion of one person will strengthen the fight against corruption?” she said when asked about her stand on these issues.