‘Congress in deep freezer’: TMC says Mamata is the one
Asserting that Trinamool is committed to fight BJP, the article in party mouthpiece ‘Jago Bangla’ called the Congress a ‘spent force’
Amid the ongoing war of words between the TMC and the Congress, the ruling camp in West Bengal on Friday launched a fresh attack on the grand old party, stating that it has gone into a “deep freezer” with opposition forces now looking up to Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to fill the vacuum.
The Congress leadership, which declined to attach much importance to the assertions of the TMC leaders, said it is “too early to predict” who would emerge as an alternative face.
The TMC, which had been inducting disgruntled Congress leaders in its fold, iterated in its mouthpiece ‘Jago Bangla’ that it was committed to fight the BJP. The editorial attacked Congress for its indifference.
The editorial comes a day after poll strategist Prashant Kishor criticised Congress for not launching an effective movement against the BJP in his tweet. Without naming Rahul Gandhi, Kishor tweeted that “Congress leadership not a divine right”.
Veteran Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad also tweeted on Thursday and said: “I wish Congress could win in 300 seats. But I don’t think it is possible in the 2024 election? I have doubts whether Congress will be able to form the government. I think it will stop much before that.”
Mamata Banerjee after meeting NCP head Sharad Pawar had said in Mumbai that “UPA does not exist.” Trinamool Congress has become the Opposition party in Meghalaya after 12 Congress MLAs, including former Chief Minister Mukul Sangma, joined the party.
After becoming the Chief Minister for the third consecutive time, Banerjee had met Sonia Gandhi in Delhi and requested her to frame a common minimum programme to be followed by the Opposition parties to fight against the BJP. She told Gandhi that it should be expedited so that more time was available to launch all-out programmes against the BJP.
“The TMC has been saying this for a long time that the Congress is a spent force. They don’t have the zeal to fight the BJP. The party is so bogged down by infighting that it hardly has time or energy to build an opposition. The UPA does not exist,” the article titled ‘Congress in deep freezer’ said.
“The country currently needs an alternative front and Opposition parties have given that responsibility to Mamata Banerjee. They are looking up to her to fill the vacuum. She is presently the most popular opposition face in the country,” it said.
Veteran Congress leader and MP Pradip Bhattacharya said it is for the opposition front allies to unanimously decide who will be their leader.
In response, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said his party never spoke of an alliance without Congress.
“We have never said that we want an opposition front without the Congress. But at the same time it is true that Congress has failed to lead the opposition front in the last seven years,” he said.