CALCUTTA, JAN 29: Betraying her frustration with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Government yet again, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today took swipes at Defence Minister George Fernandes and Information & Broadcasting Minister Pramod Mahajan who criticised her for demanding the resignation of Home Minister L K Advani over the Staines' murders.But her strongest attack was reserved for Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi. ``Why was Joshi sent to Orissa - is he an RSS man? He should not have been included in the Centre's team,'' she said while talking to reporters here.Banerjee was piqued by Fernandes and Mahajan criticising her outburst. She dismissed Fernandes's remark that the Orissa incident was part of an ``international conspiracy'' to destabilise the government. She also rapped the Defence Minister for giving a ``clean chit'' to the Bajrang Dal over the incident. ``How could he say these at this stage when a proper investigation hasn't yet started?'' sheasked.Reacting sharply to Mahajan's remark that her criticism of the Union Government over the Orissa tragedy betrayed her ``intellectual failure,'' she quipped, ``Yes, they are intelligent and we are all foolish people. But go and ask him what the government is doing to protect the minorities.''Banerjee was also sharply critical of the Centre's decision to raise the prices of rice, wheat and sugar for the public distribution system. This was, she said, what the Congress governments used to do before the Budget session. ``As allies of the government we have to answer the people for such price hikes,'' she complained.She was unhappy that the government did not raise the issue with the allies. Although another meeting of the coordination committee of the BJP and its allies has been called in New Delhi on February 2, she will not attend it. Her logic: she has already resigned from the coordination committee. But she said she could attend it if it were a meeting, not of the coordination committee, but ofthe allies.But even in her anger she reiterated her faith in Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. ``He is a good and honest man. He's filled the vacuum created by the death of Rajiv Gandhi. But he's not being allowed to work,'' she said. Once again, she said the country now needed a national government headed by Vajpayee. But, of course, she would not support any such government if it included the Communist Party of India (Marxist).She claimed she had no choice but to continue her support to this government because there was ``no alternative.'' The people could not afford another election. She ducked Sonia Gandhi's charge that the BJP's allies were ``hypocrites'' because they would criticise the government but not withdraw support from it. ``At least we are not a party of hypocrites,'' she said.
