NEW DELHI: CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby on Saturday said TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee responded positively to his appeal for opposition parties to come together over the Election Commission row, prompting the two leaders to speak over the phone.
Baby has written to several opposition leaders an non-NDA parties seeking their participation in a broader mobilisation on the issue. Banerjee, who responded positively to his letter, wrote back saying that the effort needed to be taken forward and all parties mobilised, Baby told PTI.
The two leaders subsequently spoke over the phone, with Baby saying they also recalled their days in Parliament when Banerjee was in the Lok Sabha and he was a member of the Rajya Sabha.
"Now we have come to the understanding that we must work together and struggle together on this issue," Baby said.
The CPI(M) general secretary said the issue required the entire opposition to come together, besides involving civil society and public intellectuals committed to secular and democratic principles.
His outreach included INDIA bloc constituents as well as parties outside the alliance, including the BRS, AAP, DMK, BJD and TVK, as opposition parties seek to coordinate their response to the developments concerning the poll panel and the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
An INDIA bloc meeting is proposed for September 30, with the opposition parties expected to discuss the issue and their further course of action.
The Left parties have also begun their own programmes and efforts to bring more parties on board.
"We had a meeting of the Left parties. CPI(ML) contacted the RSP and Forward Bloc. We could not wait till some larger conglomerate takes place. We have called for week-long programmes -- September 28, Bhagat Singh's birthday, and October 2, Gandhi Jayanti," Baby said.
"Two towering personalities of India's struggle -- their memories are also being invoked. These parties want a larger Opposition meeting. There is an INDIA bloc meeting on the 30th," he said.
The outreach is significant given the longstanding political rivalry between the CPI(M) and TMC in West Bengal, even though both parties are part of the broader INDIA bloc at the national level.
A senior TMC leader confirmed the development. "That means the message going out is to put all minor differences aside, as there is something bigger," the TMC leader said.
Both Mamata Banerjee and Abhishek Banerjee will attend the INDIA bloc meeting in Delhi on September 30.
(With inputs from PTI)