Kolkata: Seeking to scotch speculation over
Trinamool Congress snapping ties with the UPA, Mamata Banerjee
today made it clear that her party was not withdrawing support
to the Manmohan Singh government and claimed there was no
distrust between them.
"Why are you asking me to withdraw? This is wrong,"
Banerjee, the Railway Minister, angrily told a correspondent
when he sought her reaction on the Samajwadi Party reportedly
offering to support the UPA if the Congress looked to replace
ally Trinamool Congress.
"No, there is no distrust," she said to a question.
Speculation over Banerjee parting ways with the UPA were
rife after she decided go it alone in the May 30 Kolkata
Municipal Corporation election, holding the Congress
responsible for the collapse of the seat-sharing talks.
Seeing the possibility of cosying up to the Congress,
Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav has offered the
backing of his 21 MPs for the UPA to be in the comfort zone in
the event of TC withdrawing support.
Trinamool Congress, a UPA coalition partner, has 19
members in the Lok Sabha.
Banerjee had earlier said Trinamool would remain in the
UPA government as long it was able to with honour.
PTI
