West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said that along with Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin she has also spoken to Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao over the past few days and emphasised that all political players who call themselves secular must come together.

“I spoke to Stalin ( Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin) yesterday on setting up a cultural centre on Aurobindo… day before yesterday I spoke to Telangana Chief Minister,” Ms. Banerjee told a private Bengali news channel.

The Trinamool Congress chairperson said she spoke to her counterparts from the southern States on a host of issues including the role of the office of Governor and “how the federal structure was being bulldozed” and the demolition and destruction of the Constitution.

“It is not my responsibility. It is the responsibility of all. All those who call themselves secular must come together,” she said.

On the issue of fighting the Congress, Ms. Banerjee replied, “Why should we fight the Congress?” She maintained that she has no personal grudges against anyone but added that the Congress does not have good ties with regional parties. “In some places since they are a part of the government that is why the parties are managing,” she added. 

Ms. Banerjee said she had urged the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress to come together in the fight against the BJP and added, “What can I do if they don’t want to?” Ms. Banerjee reiterated that the electoral contest in the years to come is to protect democracy and save the country from a presidential form of governance.

‘No real Yogi’

 On the repeated references to West Bengal by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath during the election campaign, Ms. Banerjee said these remarks prove how scared he was. 

“He is not a real yogi (sage)… He had imposed fines on people who participated in NRC protests,” she said.

Ms. Banerjee said that she campaigned for Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav for greater interest and added that she will visit Varanasi in the poll-bound State to campaign on March 3. “If we can save Uttar Pradesh, we will be able to save the country,” she said, underlining the importance of the Assembly polls in the largest State of the country.

Ms. Banerjee appeared non-committal on her party’s electoral performance in Goa which is going to the polls on Monday. She said in three to four months her leaders have been able to familiarise the people of Goa to the Trinamool Congress.