Mamata Banerjee on Friday said the Congress wanted the Trinamul Congress's support to fight the BJP at the national level, but it was bitterly opposed to her party in Bengal allegedly in cahoots with the saffron camp.
At the culmination of the 60-day Trinamuley Nabo Jowar (New High Tide in Trinamul) at Kakdwip of South 24-Parganas, the chief minister delivered a belligerent 37-minute address, in which she attacked the Congress a number of times, along with the BJP, the CPM and the ISF.
“Even the Congress has run many states. They are the CPM’s biggest partner. A big partner of the BJP,” said a visibly angry Mamata.
“Yet in Parliament, you (the Congress) want our help. We will extend it, too, against the BJP,” she added. “But do remember, sharing a household with the CPM in Bengal, do not come seeking help from us here.”
Mamata's allegation assumes significance as the Bengal chief minister is scheduled to meet top Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Karge, at a crucial meeting of national Opposition parties in Patna next Friday.
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury is also expected to be present at the June 23 meeting.
The Congress in Bengal, led by Mamata’s bete noire Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, has been fighting the ruling dispensation tooth and nail, matching the BJP and the CPM in bellicosity, in the run-up to the panchayat polls. Chowdhury, who is also the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, was one of the petitioners, alongside state BJP president Suvendu Adhikari, who sought central forces for the elections. Calcutta High Court ruled in their favour.
“The Congress really must rein in its state leaders and ensure a redirection. It is in poor taste, the duality with which they have been approaching Trinamul. This is something she is likely to bring up with Kharge next week,” said a senior Trinamul MP.
The Congress has already turned down the Trinamul chairperson's suggestion, communicated through JDU chief Nitish Kumar, that the Grand Old Party vacate the Lok Sabha field in states where anti-BJP regional satraps — such as Trinamul in Bengal, SP in Uttar Pradesh and the AAP in Delhi and Punjab — are strong.
