New Delhi:
Giving an indication of their strong stand against the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal in the coming days, the new union ministers from the state lost no time in launching an attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday.
"Parliament reopens in less than a month and I challenge Mamata Banerjee that if she has the courage, she should bring a no-confidence motion against the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government," said Adhir Ranjan Choudhury, the new Minister of State for Railways.
Both Mr Choudhury and Deepa Dasmunshi, who took charge as the Minister of State for Culture, oppose Ms Banerjee and their induction into the union ministry is seen as a message to her.
Ms Banerjee, after withdrawing her party's support to the UPA over economic reforms recently, has been vociferously attacking the Congress.
"Why did her party quit the government and let go of the railways portfolio? The people never asked them to do so. Now if the projects announced by Trinamool's railway ministers do not materialise, they themselves are to be blamed," said Mr Choudhury.
Meanwhile, Deepa Dasmunsi, who has been up in arms against Ms Banerjee over the establishment of an AIIMS-like hospital in Raiganj - her constituency in North Dinajpur district of West Bengal - said the project which has been in limbo over land acquisition, would now gain momentum.
"Now that I have become a minister, the project will certainly see the light of the day. As a minister, I will now have more power to push for the project," said Ms Dasmunsi.
Another Congress MP from Bengal, AH Khan Choudhury, who was inducted as Minister of State for Health, supported Ms Dasmunsi on the AIIMS project.
"If we sit and wait for the Bengal government to solve the issue, it will never materialise. We ourselves will have to ensure that the hospital comes up. We will have to ensure that land for the project is bought as quickly as possible," said Mr Khan Choudhury.