Trinamool refuses to attend all-party meet on cyclone relief

Trinamool Congress said it won't attend the all-party meeting convened by West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

Trinamool Congress said it won’t attend the all-party meeting convened by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Sunday to exchange views and seek suggestions for expediting relief and restoration work in cyclone-affected areas.

The chief whip of the TC parliamentary party in Lok Sabha Sudip Bandopadhyay said on Friday night that the whole exercise was “suspect” as the meeting was to take place so many days after cyclone hit Bengal.

“It is a desperate attempt to put a government seal on the efforts to get Central funds for the cyclone victims when the state has miserably failed to arrange relief and rehabilitation,” he said.

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Bandopadhay said TC chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee before her departure from Delhi for Kolkata instructed the party MPs to raise the issue in Parliament about the state government’s failure to provide relief to the cyclone victims.

The TC stand on not attending the all-party meeting came at a time when the party is insisting that any Central assistance should be routed through the panchayats instead of giving it to state government directly.

The West Bengal Government opposed the TC demand. The West Bengal Government has sought Central assistance to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore for relief works and rehabilitation of the cyclone victims.

Meanwhile,West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee general secretary Manas Bhuniya said that the party would discuss tomorrow whether to attend the all-party meeting and then take a decision.

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