Keeping Congress in grip

It is not just the Opposition parties that are attacking the government over price rise and the IPL controversy. At the start of the second phase of the Budget session, it is also facing internal squabbles with its ally, the Trinamool Congress. During the first two days of the session, Railway Minister and Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee and her party had unofficially boycotted Parliament. The reason: The recent atrocities of some CPI(M) members in West Bengal. While two Trinamool MPs came to the Parliament House and signed the attendance register, they didn’t enter the chambers. The Trinamool leadership does not want to let the Congress breathe easy, even as the government managers need to ensure they have enough numbers to pass the Finance Bill and other legislation, when many outside supporters like SP, RJD and BSP have joined hands with the Opposition.