Barely hours after Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee extended a rider-laden olive branch to the Congress party spelling out a one-on-one fight formula against the BJP, the Bengal Pradesh Congress leadership dismissed her proposal as “ridiculous” and “outrageous”.
Speaking to The Telegraph Online, Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said: “We have repeatedly said before that we are not going to become bedfellows with thieves. If the Congress has to progress in this state, it must do so by defeating Mamata. There are no two ways about that.”
Banerjee had said on Monday that the Trinamul Congress is ready to extend support to the Congress in the 2024 general elections in regions where the Congress is strong. But the Congress, too, should reciprocate the political gesture by not fighting the Trinamul on a daily basis in states like Bengal. She had unambiguously stated that her unity formula entails the Trinamul fighting the 2024 Lok Sabha polls against the BJP by itself without the Left and Congress cutting into its vote share.
Outrageous, says Adhir
Calling the proposal “outrageous”, Chowdhury said: “What option did Didi have now but to say such things? Her national party status is gone and she is now reduced to a regional party. She tried to decimate Congress whenever she found an opportunity. She started that process from Goa. She tried that in Meghalaya and came to a halt in Tripura. In Bengal, she is fast losing popularity because of people’s disillusionment with her party. She is now facing an existential crisis. The entire state is talking against her. That’s why she remembers Congress now. Why didn’t she remember the Congress before the Karnataka elections? Why did she not ask people before to vote for the Congress?”
Chowdhury argued that Banerjee was attempting to ride past “her own crisis” by trying to piggyback the Congress. “Even after winning elections she never felt the need to work together with the Congress. Now, when there is a nation-wide positive response from people about the Congress, she feels the need to join the bandwagon and join hands with the Congress. That’s why you see the relenting and reconciliatory attitude in her now. It’s her crisis, not the crisis of the Congress party,” he said.
'Can't live with a tyrant'
“We will continue our political struggle in Bengal against the Trinamul because we cannot support corruption and this reign of terror. We cannot live together with a tyrant. It is with our support that Mamata came to power in 2011. She doesn’t recognize that now. She never uttered a word about the Bharat Jodo Yatra. She remained silent about Rahul Gandhi losing MP status. You must keep that in mind. She remembers the Congress today because she is in crisis,” the Congress leader sounded exasperated.
The sentiment was echoed by other leaders of the party. Responding to Banerjee’s proposal to support the Congress in “200-odd” seats, senior party leader Pradip Bhattacharya said: “Where did Mamata Banerjee get that 200-seat figure from? What will happen in Maharashtra then? Will only Uddhav Thackeray fight in Maharashtra and the Congress remain fence sitters over there? It’s a ridiculous thing to say. Will the Congress not contest from Bengal? What Mamata is saying is absurd and won’t be possible. We would also like to tell her clearly that the Bengal Pradesh Congress desires to contest the polls and is confident of sending some MPs from this state.”
Asked what happens then to the broader unity of the Opposition camp, Bhattacharya said: “No one is denying the need to come together against the BJP. But what does unity truly mean? Unity doesn’t mean you create such a rule in a state that becomes totally detrimental to parties other than your own. Why am I into politics if I have to accept a rule that ends up oppressing people? Why should we carry the burden of her sins on our shoulders?”
'Her proposal is absurd'
Reminded of Banerjee’s call for “sacrifice” from the Congress, the leader said: “The Congress has sacrificed in the past and will do so again in future. But what she is proposing is absurd. We cannot liquidate ourselves to help her win.”
Pradesh chief Adhir Chowdhury, however, feels that Banerjee’s statements were a reflection of the enhanced “bargaining power” of his party’s state unit. “Our political struggle in Bengal has enhanced our bargaining power and that’s why she is forced to make such offers,” Chowdhury said.
Asked what the Congress plans to do with this offer, Chowdhury said, “About that you should ask the party high command or our central leaders. I am not privy to whether she has spoken with any of our top leaders or whether she is saying these things on her own. I am just a state leader of the Congress and I conveyed to you the stand of the state leadership.”
Referring to Banerjee’s “chequered history” with alliances, Bhattacharya added: “What is the guarantee that she would maintain this Opposition unity, if it is forged? History says otherwise.”
