Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday mocked Narendra Modi and Mamata Banerjee with equal acerbity, hours before Sitaram Yechury somewhat echoed him; and both iterated confidence in INDIA's ability to oust the saffron regime from the Centre.
The state Congress chief tore into the Prime Minister and the Bengal chief minister at a Meet the Press event in Press Club Kolkata, rubbishing the "400 paar" claims of the former and the renewed pro-INDIA pledges of the latter.
Calling Modi's slogan an element of "psychological warfare", Chowdhury has asked why it's rarely being heard now from the Prime Minister.
"It was a mind game. Making a vast majority of the people believe that 400 paar is happening, so what is the point of voting for anybody else... fait accompli," said Chowdhury, the leader of the Congress in the 17th Lok Sabha.
"With each passing day, Modi seems to be forgetting about 400 paar. But his memory is not that weak.... Modi instead is now weeping in Varanasi," he added. "Modi is laughing somewhere else. Modi is getting infuriated at another place. I am amazed to see Modi's tears. Such a major gallant hero, the supposed Vishvaguru. What makes him weep, I do not know."
Chowdhury asked if the tears were on account of the inputs from intelligence agencies on which way the general election seemed to be headed.
"The first reports of the election, the estimates from the ED, the CBI, the central intelligence, he will surely be the first one to receive. Are those reports causing him pain and pessimism? Are they bringing those tears to his eyes?" he asked.
He said similar forecasts were now prompting the Trinamool Congress chief to endorse INDIA to stay relevant in national politics.
"These things, coming from a political opportunist such as her, clearly suggest that INDIA is marching ahead, aided by a nationwide anti-Modi storm. Knowing that an INDIA-led Centre is inevitable now, Mamata Banerjee is staking a claim, by extending her support irrespective of whether anybody wants it," said Mamata's bete noire, repeatedly comparing Mamata with JDU chief Nitish Kumar and his political somersault from INDIA to NDA just before the general election.
He attributed the chief minister's aversion to INDIA earlier this year — after being part of its formation over several meetings last year — to Modi's alleged intimidation, his threats to have her nephew Abhishek Banerjee incarcerated, like JMM chief Hemant Soren and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.
Barely 2km away, less than an hour later, CPM state secretary Sitaram Yechury spoke about his confusion listening to the speeches of Mamata.
"Coming here on Wednesday, I am confused hearing the speeches of the Trinamool Congress supremo. She has claimed to be the founder of INDIA," he said.
After Mamata pulled the plug on INDIA in Bengal and decided to go it alone here, the Congress and the CPM managed to strike a seat-sharing truck in the state, taking on both Trinamool and the BJP.
Criticising Mamata for not cooperating with INDIA over the past three months, Yechury said her sudden U-turn might have been prompted by the increasing trends suggesting the BJP's defeat.
"There must be some other pressure for them (Trinamool) to associate with INDIA, and claim that they are not separate," he said.
In a tongue-in-cheek attack on the Trinamool chief, Yechury underscored her past association with the BJP, and one of her returns to the NDA even after the 2002 Gujarat riots — when Modi was the western state's chief minister.
Yechury also scoffed at Modi's "desperation" from having understood that the NDA would win fewer seats than expected.
"So it is clear now that the "400 paar" slogan has been abandoned. Now, the NDA is looking at a figure of less than 300 or 272. But trends show that they will not even cross 250," he said. "INDIA will get over 300 seats."
