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Congress MP Manickam Tagore on Tuesday hit back at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for alleging an understanding between the BJP, Congress and DMK, calling her remarks "highly irresponsible and condemnable."
Congress and Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress are INDIA bloc allies in the Centre, while they are contesting elections against each other in West Bengal. In an X post, Manickam Tagore recalled that the TMC, on several occasions, have formed an alliance with the BJP, while Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has been critical of the BJP and the RSS. He said that Mamata Banerjee's remarks can weaken the unity of the INDIA bloc parties. He wrote, "Mamata Banerjee's recent remarks are highly irresponsible and condemnable. At a time when we need to stand united to fight against the BJP, baseless allegations will only serve to weaken the unity of the opposition parties. Levelling such accusations without any evidence suggests that Mamata Banerjee has lost her composure. It must not be forgotten that it was the Trinamool Congress--not the Congress party--that was in an alliance with the BJP in 1998 and 1999, and that contested the 2004 elections in partnership with the RSS-BJP alliance." "Targeting alliance partners and casting aspersions on institutions without any factual basis is not an act of leadership--it is a distraction. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi has consistently stood firm and fought against the ideology of the RSS and the BJP. More than 25 cases have been filed against him; he was disqualified from his membership in Parliament, and he was evicted from his official residence. This is the price he has paid for standing up against the RSS and the BJP," he added. Further, Tagore called for unity and responsibility on the part of TMC as a Congress ally in the Centre. "The Congress party requires no lessons from anyone on how to fight against the BJP. This is not the time for irresponsible allegations. This is a time for unity, responsibility, and clarity of purpose," the X post read. This comes after Mamata Banerjee on Monday hinted at a collusion between the BJP and TMC's INDIA bloc allies Congress and Tamil Nadu CM MK Stalin. Even Abhishek Banerjee claimed, "Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's Congress is openly splitting votes with full protection from Amit Shah's central forces." TMC and Congress stand against each other in West Bengal, like Congress contesting against the CPI(M) in Keralam. The statements, as Manickam Tagore said, may lead to a rift within the Opposition alliance. The friction can be seen in the INDIA bloc with Sagrika Ghosh and Udhayanidhi Stalin pitching Mamata Banerjee and MK Stalin, respectively, to lead the alliance. Meanwhile, polling for the 294-member Assembly in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while counting of votes is scheduled for May 4. The upcoming elections are expected to witness a high-voltage contest between the TMC and BJP, with Congress and the Left also vying for influence in the state. (ANI)
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