Prez poll: TMC may quit UPA, ministers offer resignations

Suggesting a possible exit of the party from the ruling UPA alliance, the Union Ministers of the Trinamool Congress have submitted their resignations to party president Mamata Banerjee.

The Trinamool Congress has six ministers in the Union council, including Railway Minister Mukul Roy.

A decision on the resignations of the Union ministers is slated to be taken by the Trinamool Congress chief.

However, Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay dismissed the reports saying none of the MPs have given any resignation to Mamata Banerjee, adding, "We are ready to quit the moment we think that the situation is no more conducive."

Addressing mediapersons in New Delhi, the TMC MP said that the party still believed that choosing former president APJ Abdul Kalam would have been a right decision.

"Kalam was the best choice, he could have emerged as the best candidate and president. He would have led the country with efficiency," he said.

Bandopadhyay further said that the party would still try to build consensus over Kalam.

Hitting out at the Congress, he said, "The Congress is not capable of running the government. It is the TMC that has extended its support. We should not be given any indirect threats."

The development has come just hours after Kalam, who the Trinamool Congress had been backing in the presidential poll, pulled out of the race, saying his conscience did not permit him to contest.

The former president also thanked the Trinamool Congress chief for her support.