New Delhi: On Wednesday, Sonia Gandhi listened intently as Union Home Minister Amit Shah discussed his disagreements with the Trinamool Congress. The partnership between the Congress and the Trinamool Congress in Parliament has grown stronger. While seated with Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha leaders Derek O’Brien, Sonia Gandhi engaged in a conversation over coffee, during which Amit Shah recounted the altercation with the Trinamool Congress that took place during the Rajya Sabha session. The meeting went on for quite some time at the Office of the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge.
Sources indicate that Sonia and Derek engaged in discussions regarding the collaboration between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress in Parliament. They also addressed the impending criticism from another Trinamool MP, Dola Sen, directed at Shah in the Rajya Sabha. Notably, when Amit Shah had a confrontation with Trinamool MP Saket Gokhale on Wednesday, Sonia was absent from Parliament. Consequently, she reached out to Derek to gather details about the incident. Additionally, they explored strategies for enhancing coordination at both the national level and within Parliament in the near future.
This conversation was not a standard meeting organized by Mallikarjun Kharge. The Rajya Sabha leader typically convenes with leaders from other parties in his office nearly every morning before the session to facilitate coordination. However, the Trinamool Congress generally does not participate in these gatherings. Sources from Trinamool indicate that this was not an official meeting initiated by Kharge. Following a confrontation between Shah and Saket in the Rajya Sabha, Derek, serving as the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, approached Kharge to discuss the matter, that’s where he met Sonia.
It is important to highlight that the day before, during a meeting with provincial Congress leaders, the party’s leadership indicated that collaboration with the Trinamool Congress at the national level might intensify. However, this is unrelated to state politics. The provincial leadership is encouraged to take all necessary steps to bolster the Congress party within the state. Additionally, sources from the Trinamool Congress assert that the discussions in Delhi on Wednesday are not connected to state political matters.
