Congress leaders to meet over coalition terms

KOLKATA: A government car and a chamber in the state secretariat are not enough to keep the Congress ministers happy. They want to be a part of the collective functioning, that chief minister Mamata Banerjee had promised. Ministers are planning to give a piece of their mind at a party meeting scheduled at the assembly on Friday. Senior Congress leader and Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee will be there.
All 42 Congress MLAs have been asked to attend the meeting where they will air their views of the Bengal situation and the various "issues" that may have cropped up in the functioning of the government.
"We are in the Cabinet, but no major decision has been taken in the several meetings we have attended with our coalition partners at Writers' Buildings over the last one month. Initially, there were some historic decisions which we came to know during the Cabinet meetings. But now, it's as if the Congress barely exists in the government," a Congress minister said.
Irrigation minister Manas Bhuniya, however, refused to open his mouth. "I have no idea what the agenda for Friday's meeting is. We'll get to know as the meeting takes off," he said.
State PCC chief Pradip Bhattacharya, too, was tight-lipped on the likely topics for the meeting. All he would say was: "I have no idea why it has been called. The MLAs will take part in an open discussion. Since I am not an MLA nor a minister, I have nothing to say on this."
But observers felt that chinks in the coalition have surfaced over the last one month. They were more than apparent during the 21 July Brigade rally as not a single member from Congress was present. The Congress ministers said they didn't know about the meeting, and the Trinamool Congress insisted that one and all were invited.
A Congress leader said, "The coalition is here to stay no matter what. Both the Trinamool and the Congress need each other both in the state and the centre. I am sure issues will be ironed out between the two parties."
Another minister said, "When we are a part of the government, we expect to be included in the administrative policies. That's the minimum work condition which is yet to be fulfilled," said a minister.