Kolkata, June 22 (IANS) Former West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee has reportedly directed party leaders, legislators, and MPs, who continue to remain loyal to her camp, to exercise extreme caution while reacting to the government’s first state Budget to be presented by newly appointed Finance Minister Swapan Dasgupta.

According to party sources, Banerjee held a closed-door meeting at her Kalighat residence in south Kolkata on Sunday with a section of Trinamool Congress (TMC) leaders and elected representatives who continue to align themselves with her and her nephew, Abhishek Banerjee, the party’s national general secretary.

A senior leader, who attended the meeting, said Banerjee advised party members not to rush into commenting on the Budget proposals and to study them carefully before taking any public position.

“She instructed everyone to refrain from blindly opposing the Budget proposals. She said that not even two months have passed since the new government assumed office, and, since this is its first Budget, it deserves some time. Hence, Mamata Banerjee said that we need to first see what the new state government can bring from the Union Government for the state. We need to keep an eye on what happens,” the leader said.

Sources said Banerjee also suggested that any detailed assessment of the Budget should be made only after the proposals are thoroughly examined by economists or industry experts who remain close to the party.

Political observers believe the TMC chief is attempting to recalibrate her strategy following the party’s crushing defeat in the recently concluded Assembly elections in the state. They argue that indiscriminate opposition to every initiative of the new government could prove politically damaging at a time when the party is trying to rebuild its support base.

“Apart from that, she has probably realised that her immediate priority should be addressing internal unrest within the Trinamool Congress, amid growing signs of rebellion among party MLAs and MPs, rather than opposing the new government on every issue. She appears to have recognised that any attempt at a political comeback will require a far more cautious and calibrated approach,” a Kolkata-based political observer said.

–IANS

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