Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the ‘Trojan Horse’ of the BJP. She should be kept out of all efforts to cobble up an opposition platform ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. This is how Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury described Mamata Banerjee’s aspirations here Wednesday. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said Mamata is an ‘untrustworthy ally’, trying to grow nationally at the cost of the Congress.
“Mamata Banerjee has always tried to bite the hand that fed her. She should be kept out of the efforts to form opposition unity. She is the Trojan Horse of the BJP, who can never be trusted in the fight against the BJP,” asserted Chowdhury.
“She is desperately trying to please PM Narendra Modi and the BJP to protect her family and party leaders from the clutches of the CBI and ED. In return, she is helping the BJP achieve its target of Congress-mukt Bharat (Congress-free India). The TMC is trying to sabotage the opposition unity,” claimed Chowdhury.
Chowdhury said that TMC has always grown at the cost of Congress. “First, they did it in Bengal, and now they are trying to do it nationally. The TMC is known for backstabbing its allies,” he claimed.
His comments came as the Trinamool Congress has been inducting Congress leaders to bolster its national presence. Among the heavyweight Congress leaders who joined the TMC are Sushmita Dev and former Goa chief minister Luizinho Faleiro.
“Mamata is dreaming of becoming the next prime minister of the country, and Congress seems to be her biggest roadblock. As long as the Congress is there, she can never be the leader of the opposition front, and that is why she is trying to tarnish the image of the Congress and undermine its leadership,” Chowdhury asserted.
On an article in the TMC’s mouthpiece that claimed Banerjee and not Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is the opposition face against Modi, he said the TMC’s leadership is living in a ‘fool’s paradise’. “Rahul Gandhi has been the most consistent opposition voice against the BJP and the RSS. Congress still commands a 20 per cent vote share in India. Apart from BJP, can you name any other party with such a vote share? The answer is no,” asserted Chowdhury.
He asserted the Congress has never claimed to be the leader of the opposition front as it was the ‘natural leader’. “Without Congress, there can never be any anti-BJP front in India. The opposition unity is based on shared ideas and policies, and should not be at the cost of the Congress,” Chowdhury said.