India / I'm not an astrologer: Mamata when asked who'll lead Opp'n in 2024

New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that she will have no problem if someone else leads the prime ministerial face of the Opposition for the Lok Sabha elections in 2024.

When asked who will lead the opposition parties, CM Banerjee shot back, "I am not a political astrologer, depends on the situation; have no problem if someone else leads."

Asked if she could be the face of the Opposition, the Bengal chief minister said, "I am a simple worker, want to continue as a worker."

CM Banerjee's statement comes ahead of her meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and other Opposition leaders to pave the way for a better coalition against the Central Government.

"After the parliament session there will be talks, there should be a common platform to work together. I am meeting Sonia Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal. Spoke to Lalu Prasad Yadav on Tuesday. We will be talking to all parties," CM Banerjee said.

The Bengal CM today skipped a meeting of the opposition parties about the Pegasus controversy, but at a press meet later, she said that her party is at the forefront of the battle over the issue.

"The situation is very serious, more serious than Emergency," the TMC chief said on Pegasus row.

"My phone is already tapped. If Abhishek's phone is tapped, and I am talking to him, then, automatically my phone is tapped too. Pegasus has put everyone's life in danger," she added.

The phone number of CM Banerjee's nephew, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee, was part of the alleged list of potential surveillance targets reported earlier this month by a consortium of 17 news organisations across the globe.

CM Banerjee had earlier said that she has plastered her phone to prevent spying. "Our phones are tapped. Pegasus is dangerous and ferocious. I cannot talk to anyone. You are paying too much money for spying. I have plastered my phone," she had stated.