Trinamool Congress violating ethics of coalition politics: Congress

KOLKATA: The rift between Congress and Trinamool Congress today deepened with the national party accusing its ally of violating ethics of coalition politics and alleging that no democratic rights exist in West Bengal.

"We wanted to remove CPI(M) for restoration of democratic rights but it is unfortunate that we failed to restore them. If our right to speak is taken away, how can we say that democratic rights exist here?" West Bengal Congress president Pradip Bhattacharya said at a protest rally here.

"It is a pity that the fundamental change the Congress had wanted to usher in West Bengal, ending 34 years of CPI(M) rule, has not come about. Trinamool Congress' concept of change consists of just changing the chief minister and nothing else," he said.

Bhattacharya said he was not against Congress' alliance with TMC but if one partner "violates the ethics of coalition politics everyday, it cannot be accepted".

"Trinamool Congress activists are attacking Congress workers in the districts and even capturing INTUC offices and the state government is sitting idle," he claimed.

Bhattacharya was addressing a PCC rally to protest price rise and increase in power tariff by private power utility CESC limited "with the consent of the Mamata Banerjee government".

The PCC chief demanded that the state government should ensure that CESC reduce power tariff in consultation with the electricity regulatory commission.

"If Dinesh Trivedi had to resign as railway minister for a marginal increase in railway fares, why Trinamool is silent when power tariff is hiked?" he wondered.