West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday once again batted for Opposition unity to take on the ruling BJP, saying people have had enough of 'ache din' (good days) and they now need 'sachche din' (truthful days). She added that it will be difficult to stop a political 'thoofan' (storm) that may hit the country.
As she spent the third day in the national capital meeting senior Opposition leaders like Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Arvind Kerjriwal, Mamata said the game is not over yet and her aim is to help the Opposition to "bell the cat" and she did not want to be the "face" but a "simple cadre".
Repeated questions during an interaction with a select group of journalists on who would lead the Opposition in 2024 Lok Sabha elections and whether she would throw her hat in the ring met with a repeated assertion that she cannot impose her choice on other parties and a leader would emerge as the situation evolves.
"I am not a political astrologer. It depends on the situation, structure. I have no problem if someone else leads. When the matter is discussed we can decide. I cannot impose my opinion on others... I have a sweet home in Kolkata... I want to help all the Opposition parties to bell the cat. I don't want to be a leader, but a simple cadre," she said on the leadership issue.
The Trinamool Congress supremo, who steered her party to a consecutive third victory in the West Bengal Assembly elections, targeted Modi-led BJP and exuded confidence that the Opposition would be stronger than the ruling party in the near future.
Responding to questions on the failure to forge Opposition unity in 2019 and what changed in two years, she cited the examples of the election after the Emergency, the return of Indira Gandhi in 1980, V P Singh in 1989 and later A B Vajpayee to say that one can see change even within one year.
"We have had a lot of 'ache din', now we want 'sachche din'," Mamata said.
Asked whether leaders like YSR Congress' Jagan Mohan Reddy and BJD's Naveen Patnaik, who supports the BJP in Parliaments on Bills, join the Opposition camp, she said it may not be happening today but it can happen later. "It would be difficult to contain a political 'thoofan'," she said.
Mamata said there would be a meeting of Opposition parties soon after Parliament session ends to decide on how to strategise on the upcoming elections in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand among others. "If we (Bengal) can defeat the BJP, then others can also do," she said.
Asked whether she sees a chance of JD(U) chief and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar joining the Opposition ranks, she said he is still with the NDA and that can happen only if he leaves them. "You make him understand. I won't interfere in his party's affairs," she said.
On the demand to bifurcate West Bengal and create a separate North Bengal, she said the BJP was raising the issue because they could not take it that they have lost ground in the state. "They want to divide India, divide Bengal. We will not allow that. That is our commitment. It is very difficult to fight us. We won't bow down," she said.
Asked about the Pegasus row, Mamata said the Centre should have suo moto announced a probe as one needs to respond in a democracy. "Everywhere they are sending ED, I-T for raids. Here, there is no response... The situation is very serious, it's more serious than the Emergency," she added.