Mamata to skip Sonia Gandhi’s Iftar dinner

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Derek O’Brien on Saturday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would not be attending Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s Iftar dinner and added that he would be attending the event on her behalf.

“On behalf of Mamata Di, I will be attending Kejriwal ji’s Iftar tomorrow and Sonia ji’s Iftar on Monday,” said Brien.

According to reports, Gandhi has invited leaders from all non-BJP aligned parties for an Iftar dinner in an attempt to show a message of opposition unity, including those from the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Samajwadi Party (SP), along with the leaders of allies Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and National Conference (NC).

The Congress plans to go on the offensive against the BJP in the upcoming Monsoon Session of the Parliament over the Lalitgate issue, involving External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, as well as over the Vyapam scam. (ANI)