Mamata Banerjee slams Rahul Gandhi, says there’s an ‘unholy nexus’ of Congress, BJP, CPI(M)
3 min read 20 Mar 2023, 09:55 AM ISTBJP is trying to make Rahul Gandhi a ‘hero’ to serve its own interests, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said.
PremiumWest Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of attempting to shift attention from current issues by making Congress leader Rahul Gandhi a “hero" and stalling Parliament proceedings over his comments in the UK. Speaking to TMC workers over the phone at an internal meeting in the Murshidabad district, Banerjee also claimed that Congress had failed to combat the BJP and that there was a tacit agreement between Congress and the saffron party in West Bengal.
According to Abu Taher, TMC Murshidabad district chairman and MP, Banerjee said that the BJP's actions aimed to benefit themselves by preventing Opposition parties from raising concerns about the people. “They want to make Rahul Gandhi a hero of the Opposition camp," Taher added. The internal meeting was held on March 19 evening at the Baharampur party office.
The comment comes during a Parliament deadlock over Gandhi's remarks during his recent trip to the UK, which has prevented either house from conducting significant business for the first five days of the second half of the budget session.
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The TMC supremo's criticism of Rahul Gandhi comes just two days after she announced that her party would remain independent of both Congress and BJP and could enter discussions with other regional players before the 2024 Lok Sabha election. According to the TMC, Congress is not the "big boss" of the Opposition.
In reference to the Sagardighi by-election results, in which Congress took the seat from TMC, Banerjee said that there was an "unholy nexus of Congress-CPI(M)-BJP" operating in the state. She urged party members to collaborate and defeat this alliance in the upcoming Panchayat and Lok Sabha polls.
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Banerjee blamed Congress state president Adhir Chowdhury, without naming him, for having a "tacit understanding with the BJP." Banerjee had previously expressed dissatisfaction with Congress after the by-poll results.
In Bengal, Choudhury is one of the strongest critics of the Trinamool. Over the past few years, Banerjee has clashed with the Congress, particularly since the Trinamool has been eating into its votes in Bengal and the northeast, where the Congress has failed to win any seats in recent assembly elections. Gandhi had criticised the Trinamool during the election campaign, citing political violence in Bengal and the Saradha scam.
The relationship between the two parties has deteriorated since the Trinamool's loss to the Congress in Murshidabad. Both parties now regularly accuse each other of being BJP stooges. The back-channel talks between the two parties for a united front against the BJP in 2024 have collapsed, and Banerjee has announced that she will go it alone in the election. Her party has denied any back-channel talks.
(With agency inputs)
