The Trinamool chief's public posturing is similar to the Left ultimatum to UPA I over the Indo-US civil nuclear deal in 2008. However , unlike the Left, Mamata may just stop short of withdrawing support . "We don't want to topple the government . At the same time , there is a ground rule in coalition politics and one should not cross the Lakshman rekha . We need reforms but that should reach the poor and the common people ," the Trinamool chief saidon Saturday .
Significantly ,the chief minister , who had given President Pranab Mukherjee a warm welcome on Friday , stayed away from the IIT convocation programme where she was supposed to share the dais with Mukherjee.
Mamata's defiance has triggered a guessing game on the nature of the "hard decisions " she would take at the party's parliamentary committee meeting on Tuesday in case the Congress doesn't buckle under pressure by then .
In comments that were interpreted in political circles to mean that she might pulloutof the ministry and offer support to the UPA government from outside like the Samajwadi Party , Mamata said : "We are the second largest ally in the coalition. But look at the central ministry .We have only railways . Saugatada , Sudipda are all ministers of state though we are supposed to get four Cabinet berths . We have never hankered for Cabinet berths ."
According to Trinamool sources , Mamata has reasons to believe that the tally isn't going to improve much in the coming reshuffle of the Union Cabinet in Delhi.
(Times Of India)
