Never personally attacked CPI(M), Cong leaders, says Mamata

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the opposition has crossed the line of decency by indulging in "malicious and baseless" campaign against her, though she had never made any personal attack on the top leadership of Congress or CPI(M).

The Chief Minister's remarks came after Congress leader Abdul Mannan allegedly made some unsavoury comments against her inside the House, which was expunged by the Speaker.

"I don't believe in making personal attacks and in politics there should be a line of decency. You have attacked me personally in various ways. I keep it in mind not to cross the lines of verbal attack.
 

"Just because I have some issue against you, that does not mean that I will attack Sonia ji or Rahul Gandhi, that is my decency. Similarly, I did not attack Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee or Jyotibabu personally," she said following Mannan's comment which created a furore in the House.
 

Speaker Biman Banerjee asked Mannan not to make any comments which can create tension inside the House.
 

"Comments which we make at political meetings should not be made inside the House," he said.
 

Criticising the Left and Congress for forging an alliance by compromising their ideology, Banerjee said, "I have gone with the NDA under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. I had gone with NDA not with BJP, on the basis of common minimum agenda. But the Congress had forged an alliance with CPI(M), the same CPI(M) with whom they had fought ideologically for so many years.
 

"We can go with Mayawati (BSP), Mulayam Singh Yadav (SP) but not with CPI(M). My fight against CPI(M) will continue. Why don't the CPI(M) take over the sign board of Congress," the Trinamool Congress chief said.
 

On her party's political differences with BJP-led Central government, she said there might be political differences but for the sake of the state, she and her MPs had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Finance Minister on several occasions.