Mamata Banerjee calls President, coming to Delhi for joint Opposition stir

Kolkata: A day after calling on all Opposition parties, including bete noire CPI(M), to jointly protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demonetisation of Rs 1,000 and Rs 500 currency notes, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee spoke to President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday and later said he had agreed to meet the representatives of political parties over this issue later in the week.

Ms Banerjee tweeted: “The Honourable  President was kind enough to take my call. I briefed him about how the common people are suffering because of demonetisation. I thank him for agreeing to meet representatives of political parties on November  16 or 17 where we will brief him in detail on the grim situation.” Sources at Nabanna, the state secretariat, said the CM will travel to New Delhi on Tuesday. She has cancelled her Bankura tour that was due on November 15 and 16.

Ms Banerjee spoke to the leaders of several parties on Sunday to devise a joint campaign against demonetisation and for a meeting with the President. Sources at Nabanna said she spoke to Delhi chief  minister Arvind Kejriwal, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. Mr Yechury, sources said, reportedly told Ms Banerjee he would talk to senior party leaders before taking a call on a joint movement with her.

[Sources in the CPI(M), however, clearly said that their party would not take part in any joint movement or protest alongside the Trinamul supremo and her party.]

In a series of tweets, Ms Banerjee again appealed to the Narendra Modi government to withdraw this hasty move, and put a proper plan of action in place. She said: “This is not an ego battle. I humbly appeal again to the Govt at the Centre. Save common people from more suffering, and the country from financial catastrophe, by withdrawing this hasty decision. First please put a proper action plan in place. Breathing space for people.”

On her talks with several political leaders, she wrote: “Today I spoke with several  political leaders regarding a joint movement and to meet Rashtrapatiji together. Let us all fight this together to give relief to common citizens, the poor, and stop this financial anarchy.”

A Trinamul MP who will accompany Ms Banerjee to Delhi on Tuesday said she plans to hold talks with Mr Kejriwal and some others on Tuesday evening before meeting President Mukherjee on Wednesday or Thursday. The CM had said on Saturday that if  need be her party  would also speak to “the Congress, CPI(M), Mayawati (BSP) and Mulayamji (SP)” urging them to join forces. “If we do not join hands for this greater cause, then the country will be sold off,” she had warned.

The West Bengal CM has been describing the Centre’s demonetisation move as a “surgical strike on the common people” in the name of unearthing black money, and called it “dangerous, draconian and disastrous”. A close aide of the Trinamul supemo said she is also trying to rope in Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, who had earlier welcomed the demonetisation move.