TMC to play role of constructive opposition in Parliament

The Trinamool Congress (TMC) today said it would play the role of a "constructive opposition" in Parliament and not act as a "second fiddle" to the Congress in opposing the ruling BJP.
A senior TMC MP told PTI on the condition of anonymity that the Mamata Banerjee-led party would coordinate with other parties, if need be, in opposing the BJP for its "anti-people" policies, but would not show resistance on issues that did not affect the common people.
"We will play the role of a constructive opposition in Parliament. We will not become a second fiddle to the Congress in opposing the government on each and every issue," he said.

Another TMC MP said, "Why will we go for a coordination with the Congress on issues such as the verbal spat between Manmohan Singh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi? How does it concern the people of India? Let the Congress fight it out."
Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly and Congress leader Abdul Mannan said the TMC's change of stance was an indication that the party was "going soft" on the BJP to save its own leaders, who were facing corruption charges.
The TMC had been at the forefront in opposing government moves such as demonetisation and the GST rollout.

The leaders of the ruling party in West Bengal also felt that the Gujarat poll results would not have any impact on the state's politics.
"The Gujarat (poll) results will not have any impact on Bengal politics. Bengal and Gujarat are completely different. If you analyse the Gujarat results, you will see that the BJP's Gujarat model of development has fallen flat as it has faced a drubbing in the rural areas," TMC's Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy told PTI.
West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee has termed the BJP's victory in Gujarat a "temporary face-saving win but a moral defeat" for the saffron party.