Former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday said she may join the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10 seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, as the INDIA bloc prepares to march to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday.
Banerjee reached the residence of her nephew and Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee in Kolkata. She is also expected to be part of a 10-member core team of INDIA bloc leaders that will meet President Droupadi Murmu on Friday to submit a memorandum against alleged mass disenfranchisement and demand Kumar’s ouster.
“I may join the protest at Jantar Mantar scheduled for October 10, but nothing can be confirmed now. We have maintained a relationship with them (the CJP) and have extended our support, while any further decision regarding our participation will be taken later,” Banerjee said in Kolkata.
Deep Dive
Why is the CJP organising a protest at Jantar Mantar on October 10?
Has Mamata Banerjee confirmed she will join the CJP protest?
What measures did Delhi take ahead of the CJP protest?
Banerjee had played a key role in expediting the protest plans at the INDIA bloc meeting on September 29 and had earned Congress Parliamentary Party chief Sonia Gandhi’s support. She returned here as the CJP is set to start a dharna amid the INDIA bloc’s prolonged protests.
When asked if she would join the CJP’s dharna at Jantar Mantar, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien said, “As you all know we support the CJP. We have good relationship with some of their leaders. We know Abhijeet Dipke for years. Ashutosh Ranka came to Kolkata and we had lunch. I am neither confirming nor denying if Mamata Banerjee will participate in the CJP protests.”
{{/usCountry}}When asked if she would join the CJP’s dharna at Jantar Mantar, Trinamool’s Rajya Sabha floor leader Derek O’Brien said, “As you all know we support the CJP. We have good relationship with some of their leaders. We know Abhijeet Dipke for years. Ashutosh Ranka came to Kolkata and we had lunch. I am neither confirming nor denying if Mamata Banerjee will participate in the CJP protests.”
{{/usCountry}}While the Congress remains suspicious of the CJP and dubs it as an ally of Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, Trinamool and Shiv Sena (UBT) have extended olive branches to the new outfit. During the CJP’s protests against the exam paper leak, Banerjee sent five MPs to the CJP’s platform to express solidarity.
“I was asked to go, so I am going... A request for an appointment with the President has been made for the 8th or 9th on behalf of the INDIA Alliance leaders; my name has been included in that list,” Banerjee said.
INDIA bloc lawmakers will march from Parliament to Rashtrapati Bhavan on Friday to meet President Droupadi over the raging issue of mass disenfranchisement through SIR. They will also demand Kumar’s ouster. The Rashtrapati Bhavan, however, has not yet finalised the Opposition’s appointment to meet Murmu, who was in Himachal Pradesh for the past three days.