Mounting a veiled attack on the Congress for “sitting back” because of its “ego”, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Wednesday appealed to regional parties to come together and defeat the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. She also alleged that Congress helped the saffron party win the polls in Meghalaya and Chandigarh.
"We want all regional parties to come together and defeat the BJP in 2024. If we can defeat the CPI(M) in West Bengal, we can also humble the saffron party at the national level," Banerjee said, addressing a meeting after being re-elected unopposed as the TMC chairperson. Her comments come in the backdrop of Congress' denial to ally with the TMC in the Goa assembly elections. "The TMC wants those who are opposed to the BJP to come on one platform, but if someone wants to sit back because of ego, then we can't be blamed. Our party will fight against the BJP alone if needed," she said.
Banerjee said that just like the Congress emerged as a national party from Uttar Pradesh and BJP from Gujarat, the TMC has emerged as a national party from West Bengal. Reacting to her allegations, Leader of the Congress party in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, said, "The TMC has been identified as the biggest agent of the BJP. She is right, the TMC will have to fight alone as no party will join hands with Banerjee. In Delhi, every political party knows it is the biggest agent of the BJP.”
The relationship between the Congress and TMC hit an all-time low in 2021. The latter had then slammed the grand old party over its alleged failure to fight against the BJP and dubbed it as "incapable and incompetent", which has gone into "deep freezer". The West Bengal chief minister also announced that although her party has decided to support Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav for the upcoming assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, the TMC would contest Lok Sabha polls in the politically crucial state in 2024.
She, however, did not elaborate whether the TMC would fight in UP as an alliance partner or alone. Banerjee will be visiting Uttar Pradesh on February 8 and hold a virtual rally along with Yadav in support of the Samajwadi Party. "We have expanded the TMC footprint in other parts of the country. We have built a unit in Goa and in Tripura, our vote percentage is over 20 per cent. Our aim is to make Bengal stronger in the next two years to secure all 42 seats (in the 2024 polls). TMC will conduct its first national working committee meeting in Delhi," she said.
Referring to Mahatma Gandhi's vision of India, the TMC supremo said that India would not have achieved independence without the contribution of Bengal in the freedom movement. “The BJP is trying to defame Bengal. They are editing our history, and nobody is protesting… It is running the CBI, ED and has money power; the BJP is our main enemy. There is no point barking and running away. If they bark, we will bark louder," Banerjee said.
Continuing her tirade against West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, Banerjee, without naming anyone, said, "The BJP has a few dalaals (agents) in the state; the biggest one is more dangerous than Pegasus. He is calling the state’s top government officials without taking permission from the chief minister. He talks about violence in West Bengal but does not speak about what is happening in Gujarat, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh.” Banerjee had on Tuesday said that she blocked Dhankhar on Twitter, accusing him of "tapping phones" and "threatening" officials.
She also termed the Union Budget as a "big bluff" to fool the masses. "People of this country want jobs and food security; they don't want diamonds,” Banerjee asserted. "Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are now ‘dushan’ (pollution). The narrative of politics has changed over the years. How can a veteran singer like Sandhya Mukhopadhyay be insulted in such a way? She is presently hospitalised... If you speak out against them, they will threaten you and tap your phones using Pegasus," the chief minister alleged.
Singing legend Sandhya Mukhopadhyay had recently turned down an offer of Padma Shri award when she was contacted by central government officials telephonically for her acquiescence. “Padma Shri is more deserving for a junior artiste, not 'Gitasree' Sandhya Mukhopadhay,” her daughter had said. Banerjee also said that she would ask her party MPs to raise the issue of India's relations with neighbours such as Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh in Parliament.
With PTI Inputs
