Have a right to grow on own strength: WBPCC

After a lull in the straining of ties between the two parties, the Congress in West Bengal has said that their "voice does not sustain" in the Trinamool Congress-led government and the party had a "right to grow on its own strength."

"A 127-year-old party has the right to grow on its own strength. It need not play second fiddle to any other party," WBPCC president Pradip Bhattacherjee told PTI. "In the cabinet, we are so negligible that our voice does not sustain," he said. The Congress has "supported" the government on several issues, including the handling of the situation after the AMRI hospital fire, Gorkhaland demand and the problems in Maoist- affected Junglemahal, he said.

"But, this is virtually a Trinamool Congress government. Congress is a small part of the government. Basic policy and other decisions are taken by the Trinamool Congress and being implemented by the Trinamool Congress. Congress' say is negligible," Bhattacharjee said. He said Congress ministers attended meetings of the council of ministers, "but so far I know Congress has no big role in the opinion-making process. So opinion is taken by the Trinamool Congress unilaterally, both in the Ministry and the party level, which creates confusion." The relations between the two parties strained after they bickered over issues such as paddy prices, the renaming of Indira Bhavan and a cabinet reshuffle leaving ministers of the ally with reduced powers. "Three months ago we requested the Trinamool Congress to form a co-ordination committee in the state so that we can sit and find a solution to the problems that crop up time to time between two parties. But our request was not heeded to," Bhattacharjee said.

Asked to give instances when Trinamool Congress ignored the Congress in taking major policy decisions, Bhattacharjee cited only one example.

He referred to the reported move by the state government to curb the right of government employees to form associations or trade unions. "I had told the state labour minister Purnendu Bose to call a meeting of central trade unions on the issue, but there was no response," he claimed.