Bitter Mamata lashes out at 'arrogant' Congress

West Bengal chief minister and chief of the Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday lashed out at the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, accusing it of being 'arrogant.'

Days after walking out of the alliance on the issue of FDI in multi-brand retailing and the hike in diesel prices, Banerjee told a television channel that the government had lost the moral and democratic right to rule the country.

''This government never consulted any matter with any alliance partner,'' she told the interviewer. ''Whatever they do they do it quietly. This may be a stable government in the eye of the Congress, but it's not a safe and sound government.''

While Mamata's recent efforts to seek out allies among regional parties including Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party and Nitish Kumar's Janata Dal (U) have failed, she said she would be keen to form a regional front with some of these parties.

''If the regional chief ministers can sit together for the future of the country, I will be very happy,'' she said. ''That's the best for the country. India should be run from different parts of the country.''

Disappointed that her withdrawal from the UPA did not result in the toppling of the government or even a roll-back of the reforms measures announced by Singh, Mamata gave vent to her bitterness, declaring the government was stable not from the point of view of the general public, but because of the corrupt.