Sometimes Governments Last Only A Dat: Mamata Banerjee Ahead Of Oath-Taking Event
Mumbai: Riding high on her party’s recent electoral victory against the BJP in West Bengal, Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief Mamata Banerjee has suggested that the INDIA bloc could soon take control at the Centre. Speaking after a Trinamool Parliamentary Party meeting on Saturday, Banerjee remarked that governments “sometimes last only for a day,” alluding to the potential instability of the current administration.
A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s oath-taking ceremony, Banerjee announced that her party would not attend the event, claiming that the government is being formed “illegally and undemocratically.” The BJP, which has won only 240 Lok Sabha seats, falling short of the majority mark by 32, is now reliant on allies like Chandrababu Naidu’s TDP and Nitish Kumar’s JDU.
Critiquing the BJP’s situation, Banerjee said, “Those who spoke of 400 (Lok Sabha seats) could not get even a simple majority on their own. Don’t think just because INDIA has not staked claim (to form a government), nothing will happen. We are waiting and watching because things change. Ultimately, it will be a new INDIA government, but let them be for a few days. Sometimes, governments last only for a day… Anything can happen, who knows if this government will last even 15 days?”
The INDIA alliance, buoyed by a resurgent Congress and strong performances from allies such as the Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, and DMK, secured 232 Lok Sabha seats. Despite being short of a majority, INDIA bloc leaders remain confident. Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge stated that the alliance would take appropriate steps at the right time to “realize the people’s desire not to be ruled by the BJP.”
Banerjee continued her criticism of the BJP, calling for the repeal of laws passed with “brute force,” including the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). Regarding the oath-taking ceremony, she stated, “We cannot give them best wishes as they are forming a government illegally and undemocratically. They will try and break parties again. But they will break from within as many people are unhappy… We have not received an invite for the swearing-in ceremony and we will not go.”
Banerjee also invited all INDIA bloc members to Kolkata for a meeting, highlighting the extensive election process that took place in West Bengal. “The election process cannot go on for two months. We demand this change in the interest of the people,” she asserted.
The Trinamool Congress has seen significant gains, winning 29 of West Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha seats, up from 22, while the BJP’s tally fell from 18 in 2019 to 12. In the party meeting on Saturday, Banerjee was elected the chairperson of the Trinamool Congress Parliamentary Party. Sudip Bandyopadhyay will lead the party in the Lok Sabha with Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar as the deputy leader. In the Rajya Sabha, Derek O’Brien will continue as the leader, with first-time MP Sagarika Ghosh as the deputy leader.
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