Reaffirming her party’s support for the Union government on matters of external affairs, TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee on Monday, 19 May, said her party was not boycotting the Centre's multi-party diplomatic mission aimed at countering Pakistan-sponsored terrorism and would send its representatives once a formal request is received from the Centre.
She stressed that the Centre should not decide which party sends whom as part of the delegation.
"We were not contacted about this. Nowadays, they only inform the parliamentary party, not the main outfit. The parliamentary party cannot take policy decisions," the West Bengal chief minister said at Kolkata airport before leaving for north Bengal on a three-day official trip.
"No request to send a representative's name for the outreach programme came to us. If it had, then of course we could have considered it. We are totally in favour of the country on matters of external affairs. Naming representatives for diplomatic multi-party delegations to counter Pak-backed terrorism is the choice of parties, not of the Centre," Banerjee said.
Officially, the version of Trinamool Congress as stated by Derek O’Brien, the party's Parliamentary team leader in Rajya Sabha, is that although the party leadership is wholeheartedly behind any initiative by the Union government adopted for national interest, it wants international diplomacy to be handled by the Centre alone.
“Mamata Banerjee was not informed about Pathan’s selection as a member of the delegation in advance. The matter was also not officially communicated to the party leadership. Instead, the Lok Sabha member concerned was contacted directly for his passport details. Neither the BJP nor the Union government can unilaterally decide on who will represent Trinamool Congress in any multi-party delegation,” said a senior leader of the party who did not wish to be named.
