Congress in 'deep freezer', Opposition forces want Mamata to lead: TMC fires fresh salvo at grand old party

Kolkata, December 3

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.

Referring to Prashant Kishor’s latest tweet against the Congress, the article said it’s not just the poll strategist but also Congress leaders themselves who are criticising the party leadership.

“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.

Kishor, on Thursday, took to Twitter and said that Congress’ leadership is not the “divine right” of an individual, especially when the party has “lost more than 90% elections in last 10 years”, in an apparent dig at senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

Banerjee during her recent visit to Mumbai had said that “UPA doesn’t exist”.

Veteran Congress leader and MP Pradip Bhattacharya said it is for the opposition front allies to unanimously decide who will be their Leader.

“It seems the TMC is more interested in fighting the Congress than the BJP. The Congress doesn’t need to assert its leadership as the party with a greater share of seats is the natural leader. The TMC, which is a regional party, has now entered into a tacit understanding with the BJP to undermine the Congress,” he said.

Bhattacharya pointed out the history has shown that when a political alliance is formed, the partners have taken the decision unanimously on who will lead the alliance.

In response, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said his party never spoke of an alliance without the 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.

State BJP president Sukanta Majumdar mocked both the Congress and the TMC over their claims.

“Look how these parties are fighting with each other. The people of this country want a strong leadership and would never vote for a chaotic alliance,” he said.

The ruling camp of West Bengal, which is trying to expand its footprint nationally, has been up in arms against the grand old party over its alleged failure to counter the BJP.

In a massive jolt to the opposition Congress in Meghalaya, 12 of its 17 MLAs, led by former chief minister Mukul Sangma, joined the TMC last week.

The TMC, in its bid to enter Tripura’s political arena in a big way, recently engaged in a bitter battle with the BJP during the municipal elections there. It is also gearing up to contest the assembly elections in Goa to pitch Banerjee firmly as the foremost anti-BJP opposition voice.

Earlier, the TMC, in its mouthpiece, had termed the Congress as an “incapable and incompetent” party, and maintained that the Mamata Banerjee-led camp cannot be blamed for Congress leaders jumping ship.

The ties between the Congress and the TMC got further strained after ‘Jago Bangla’ recently claimed that party supremo Mamata Banerjee, and not Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, has emerged as the face of the opposition against Prime Minister Narendra Modi. PTI PNT RMS 

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