Opposition's vice presidential candidate Margaret Alva on Friday described the Trinamul Congress' decision to abstain from voting in the VP election as "disappointing" and said this was not the time for "whataboutery, ego or anger".
Alva's reaction came a day after the TMC announced it would abstain from the upcoming vice presidential election, as it does not agree with the way the Opposition candidate was decided without keeping the party in the loop.
"The TMC's decision to abstain from voting in the VP election is disappointing. This isn't the time for 'whataboutery', ego or anger. This is the time for courage, leadership & unity. I believe, @MamataOfficial , who is the epitome of courage, will stand with the opposition,"Alva said.
The Trinamul Congress on Thursday announced its decision to abstain from voting in the vice-presidential election scheduled on August 6.
The stand, announced by the party’s national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee, overshadowed chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s fervent anti-BJP diatribe earlier in the day at the July 21 mega-rally in Esplanade and generated an impression that the political message had been diluted.
The announcement drew ridicule from the Left and the Congress who alleged a secret entente between the BJP and Trinamul.
“As long as Jagdeep Dhankhar was the governor of Bengal, he behaved in a one-sided manner and was biased towards the BJP. So, we have decided that there is no way in which we can support Dhankhar’s candidature,” Abhishek said.
He made the announcement after emerging, along with Trinamul’s leader in the Lok Sabha Sudip Bandyopadhyay, from a meeting at Mamata’s residence to decide on the vice-presidential election and the party’s parliamentary strategy for the ongoing monsoon session.
“The way the name of Margaret Alva, the Opposition candidate, was decided, Trinamul feels the decision was not democratic…. More so, given how we -– despite having a total strength of 35 members in both Houses of Parliament -– were not consulted before the announcement,” Abhishek added.
