Won't be a rubber stamp for Congress: TMC signals rifts in INDIA bloc

Differing from the Congress's demand for a discussion in Parliament on alleged corruption, the Mamata Banerjee-led party has said it wants the House to function in order to raise the issues of the people of West Bengal.

The TMC said its stand was backed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has emphasised that the Congress is not an electoral ally of the party.

Mamata's party also said it does not have to accept "unilateral decisions" undertaken by Congress as both are members of the INDIA alliance.

The Congress and the TMC had contested the Lok Sabha elections and the recent bypolls in Bengal separately.

The Trinamool Congress won all six seats in the bypoll and 29 of 40 constituencies in the Lok Sabha elections, improving its 2019 tally despite BJP's tremendous effort to win Bengal.

A TMC leader said that the party does want to discuss corruption, which is one of the key causes of adjournments of both Houses of Parliament since Monday.

"West Bengal has been deprived of funds, there has been a rise in prices across the country, and we are pushing for a law for speedier justice for women who are raped. These are some of the issues that we want to raise. For this, we need Parliament to function," the leader was quoted by NDTV.