UPA finds Mamata tougher than expected

New Delhi: After UPA constituent Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday joined hands with the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha to go against the Government over the Lokpal Bill, the question raised is - has Mamata Banerjee just proved to be a difficult ally or has the Congress just failed to manage their biggest ally because of their arrogance?

The TMC made its intension clear on Wednesday, a day before the Lokpal Bill was taken up for discussion in the Rajya Sabha.

"What they will do is reserved to the Congress and reserved to the others to decide. Trinamool Congress will stand for the federal system of the country," said Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy.

The Congress went into huddle and Pranab Mukherjee called the Trinamool leaders for a meeting. But Mamata Banerjee's MPs stood firm and wanted the Lokayukta clause removed as it takes away power from state governments.

After the Lokpal drama, another Trinamool Congress MP Derek O Brien said, "You have to come to your own conclusion as to who you are blaming on...who is in charge, who is running the Government."

But the Left, an equally difficult ally in UPA 1, criticised Mamata for changing her heart after supporting Lokpal Bill in Lok Sabha.

"What Trinamool did in Rajya Sabha was surprising because two days back in Lok Sabha, they did not say anything like that," said CPI-M MP Sitaram Yechury.

"There are differences between allies and the UPA. We have to sit down and sort out those differences," said Home Minister P Chidambaram.

Mamata Banerjee's MPs are taking no chances after she pulled up party's chief whip in the Lok Sabha Kalyan Banerjee over the vote in favour of Lokpal Bill in the lower House.

For the Congress managing Mamata Banerjee is turning out to be tougher than expected.
She put UPA II on the backfoot on the fuel price hike, backed out of Prime Minister's trip to Dhaka over the Teesta water agreement with Bangladesh and forced the Congress to holdback FDI in retail and the Pension Bill.

The Congress refuses to learn its lessons, despite the debacle with the FDI in retail bill and Pensions' reform bill. What happened in Rajya Sabha over the Lokpall Bill made it very clear that till the time the Congress sincerely forms an UPA coordination committee and talks to their biggest ally more often, they will find it hard to garner her support on big ticket issues and policies.

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