Congress sinking ship, Left will face further rejection: Mamata Banerjee

KOLKATA: The Congress-led UPA government was a sinking ship and would not return to power while the Left would face further rejection by the people, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said today.

"They (UPA) are only for some more days," she said replying to the debate on the Governor's address amid boycott of the House by opposition Left and Congress members who were alleging that the Chief Minister avoided the House regularly.

Accusing the Centre of attempting to "starve" the state, Banerjee said, "Even the funds for the MNERGA have been stopped by the Centre for the last three months.

"Why did it allow the CPI(M)-led Left Front to take loans time and again during its reign?" she asked.

Claiming that there was a growing political love between CPI(M) and Congress to split Trinamool Congress votes in the Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee said the two parties would transfer each others votes in the coming elections.

Banerjee, who had called for a "parivartan" (change) in Delhi and spoken of a federal front of regional parties, said the days of the UPA government were numbered because of its "anti-people" policies after Trinamool Congress quit the UPA alliance.

Attacking the Centre for not paying heed to her government's demand to restructure its debts incurred during the Left Front era, Banerjee said, "When the new government will come we will take it up. If the debt payment is restructured, we will be able to restore the golden era. It will be all gold then."

She further said since the demolition of Babri Masjid, BJP was unacceptable to the people.