'Rumours, baseless': K.C. Venugopal dismisses reports of Congress-Trinamool merger

New Delhi, June 11 (IANS) Congress General Secretary, Organisation, K.C. Venugopal, on Thursday dismissed the reports of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress merging with his party, terming them "rumours" and "baseless". 

Addressing a press conference, Venugopal said: "These are totally rumours. Yesterday, our Communication Secretary had already stated that. These are baseless things. Of course, Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee went and met Madam (Sonia Gandhi) and Rahul Gandhi. Routine discussion."

"That is an extension of the INDIA bloc discussion. Because everybody wants to strengthen the INDIA bloc. Everybody wants to strengthen the fight against this anti-democratic government," he added.

"We will go together in that way. That is the only point of discussion, nothing else."

Speculation over a possible re-merger of the Trinamool Congress with the Congress gained momentum following Mamata Banerjee’s one-to-one meeting with Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday and Trinamool MP Abhishek Banerjee’s separate one-to-one meeting with LoP Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Wednesday.

However, Ritabrata Banerjee, leader of the new but majority bloc of the Trinamool Congress Legislative Party in the West Bengal Assembly and also the official Leader of the Opposition in the House, categorically denied any possibility of a re-merger between the Trinamool and the Congress.

Meanwhile, the Congress party announced a national-level campaign for the coming three months, with every party leader and worker expected to hit the streets against inflation, unemployment, exam scams, social inequality, and weak diplomacy in the wake of the Gulf conflict.

“We are going for a national-level campaign for the coming three months. Every Congress leader and worker should be in the field and on the street," Venugopal said at the press meet.

Referring to the cancellation of Congress leader Meenakshi Natarajan's Rajya Sabha nomination, he said: "The reason is that she didn't disclose a notice sent by a court. There was no criminal case; there is no criminal case against her. There is no FIR; there is no charge sheet; there is no charge sheet framed. By citing that reason, Meenakshi Natarajan's nomination was cancelled, rejected.”