Making it clear that Trinamool Congress would remain a "trusted" ally of UPA government for its full tenure, party chief Mamata Banerjee has kept her cards close to her chest on an alliance with Congress for the West Bengal Assembly polls, saying that "nothing is closed".
"I will speak on what is happening today. I will not speak about the future. We have gone to the people when all others had left us and they (people) have supported us. When opportunity comes in the future, we will speak. Nothing is closed," Banerjee said in an interview after her party's triumph in civic polls which it fought without a tie-up with the Congress.
"When the UPA-II government was formed, we as an ally made a commitment to remain in it for five years. We will stay unless we are pushed out," Banerjee said.
55-year-old Banerjee, however, said, "those who are saying that we are not to be trusted, should understand that we are more trusted then anybody else. There cannot be comparison between our commitment and those of others. We only want love and respect."
Stating that the Left parties were the main allies of the UPA-I before they quit on the nuclear deal issue, she said her party will remain in UPA-II "as long as CPI(M) is not there.
{{/usCountry}}Stating that the Left parties were the main allies of the UPA-I before they quit on the nuclear deal issue, she said her party will remain in UPA-II "as long as CPI(M) is not there.
{{/usCountry}}"If there are relations with the CPI(M) we cannot stay. We cannot co-exist with the CPI(M) just as and DMK and AIADMK cannot coexist," the TC supremo, whose party is the second largest ally in the UPA with 19 MPs, said.