The Trinamul Congress on Saturday mounted another offensive against the Congress, calling itself the “Aashol (real) Congress” in the party mouthpiece.

The headline in a Jago Bangla editorial is the seventh notable instance of attack on the Congress after Mamata Banerjee called on Sonia Gandhi in the presence of Rahul Gandhi on July 28.

The eighth and ninth such instances also came within a few hours. In the evening, Mamata attacked the Congress twice in her public addresses for her Bhowanipore bypoll campaign.

In her speeches at Collin Street and Shakespeare Sarani, Mamata accused the Congress of succumbing to the fear of victimisation by the BJP and striking secret deals every now and then.

The editorial in Jago Bangla read: “The flag of the Congress heritage is today in the hands of Trinamul. This is the shomudro (sea). The pawchadoba (putrid small pond) is irrelevant today.”

“Most Congress supporters have felt that Trinamul is the real Congress in Bengal. Rajiv Gandhi used to be affectionate towards this same Mamata Banerjee, used to indulge her…. The Congress of today is unsuccessful, disoriented…. The days of resting on the laurels of history are over. The holy war now is on the basis of performance on the ground,” it added. “Whoever is still in the Congress, is welcome in Trinamul. Even in the case of Delhi, that is the tendency,” the editorial said.

The persistent and seemingly unprovoked attacks have prompted questions on Trinamul’s intentions towards pan-India Opposition unity. Mamata has been urging non-BJP forces across the country to close ranks against the BJP in good time, much ahead of the crucial Lok Sabha polls of 2024.

Jago Bangla is handled largely by Trinamul national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee’s office, with inputs from Mamata, since its relaunch as a daily on July 21.