It is never too late for tantrums – even if one is on the right side of eighty. Dr Subramanian Swamy (82), who is supposedly sulking after he was removed from the BJP national executive, sent shock waves in his party by dropping in to meet TMC chief Mamata Banerjee at the official South Delhi residence of her nephew and MP Abhishek Bannerjee.
The meeting has ominous portents as it was he who had brought down the Vajpayee government by organising a meeting of late Jayalalitha with Sonia Gandhi.
In a tweet, an aide of Dr Swamy claimed he had met Mamata to assess the facts about the alleged atrocities on the Hindus in West Bengal. The TMC Twitter handle also confirmed his meeting with Mamata. His aide said though Dr Swamy has not formally joined the TMC, he has already crossed 0ver to Mamata's side; however, he does not want to lose his Rajya Sabha seat by defecting. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha in April 2016 and then joined the BJP. His 6-year term ends in April 2022.
His praise of Mamata in a tweet after the meeting shows he finally wants to quit the BJP, which has refused to give him the recognition which he thinks he deserves. In the tweet, he says: "Of the all the politicians I have met or worked with, Mamata Banerjee ranks with JP, Morarji Desai, Rajiv Gandhi, Chandrashekhar, and P V Narasimha Rao who meant what they said and said what they meant. In Indian politics, that is a rare quality."
DIDI TO CALL ON UDDHAV, PAWAR
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s next port of call is Mumbai. She will visit the city on November 30 and meet her State counterpart Uddhav Thackeray and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar. The TMC supremo has been holding talks to bring all Opposition parties together on one platform against the BJP, keeping the 2024 general elections in mind.
Asked about the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls, Banerjee said, "If Akhilesh needs our help, then we are ready to extend it." Incidentally, on Wednesday, she was in Delhi and called on PM Modi and demanded roll back of the Centre's decision to extend BSF's jurisdiction in the state.
