New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS): The Trinamool Congress - a constituent of the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA) - joined the chorus against the draft communal violence bill that came up for discussion at the National Integrtaion Council (NIC) meet here Saturday.

The communal violence bill - drafted by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) and currently being scrutinised by the UPA government - was opposed by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Janata Dal-United (JDU) and the Shiromani Akali Dal, among others.

Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi, senior member of the Trinamool Congress, told reporters here that his party was opposed to the bill and that West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra had expressed the party and the state government's opposition to the current version of the bill at the NIC meet.

Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is not attending the NIC meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"I have not personally gone through the (draft) bill," Trivedi said. "But Trinamool Congress will oppose the bill's advisory council version."

At the NIC meeting, chaired by the prime minister, BJP leaders Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal opposed the draft bill. The Punjab chief minister was not present but his observations were read out.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of the JDU, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa of the AIADMK, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati of the Bahujan Samajwadi Party - who all also oppose the draft bill - did not attend the meeting.