Left trying to control Oppn bloc's agenda, will not accept it: Mamata

Laying bare the fissures in the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), Trinamool Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee launched an attack on its constituents, alleging that she was insulted because it was the CPI(M) that led meetings of the bloc, and suggested that the Congress was being dismissive of the interests of regional parties.

Banerjee expressed her angst publicly two days after she told party leaders in an internal TMC meeting that the party was ready to contest all 42 seats in West Bengal, a state where the BJP won 18 seats in 2019.

Speaking at an interfaith "harmony" rally in Kolkata on a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi led the consecration ceremony of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Banerjee said, "It was I who coined the name INDIA. But I am sorry to say that when I attend meetings, CPI(M) controls them. This is extremely sad. I feel insulted. I fought them (Left) for 34 years when they were in power.