Mamata nephew calls Adhikari asymptomatic Covid patient

Diamond Harbour (WB), December 27

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Trinamool Congress MP Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday equated turncoat former West Bengal minister Suvendu Adhikari with an asymptomatic Covid-19 patient who “betrayed” the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and was “sabotaging” it from inside.

The TMC youth wing chief, who is also Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s nephew, alleged that his former party colleague has performed a sudden political somersault to join the BJP to stop getting hounded by the CBI and the ED.

“There were some people in the party who were like asymptomatic Covid-19 patients. We tracked their activities and identified them. We are happy to get rid of such viruses who had betrayed the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and had been sabotaging the party since the past few months,” the Diamond Harbour MP said, while addressing a rally in his constituency. Adhikari along with nine MLAs, five of them from the TMC, and a party MP joined the BJP during Union Home Minister Amit Shah’s rally at Medinipur on December 19. “Those wishing to leave the TMC for selfish reasons are free to do so. If you have the courage, float your own party like Mamata Banerjee did in 1998. She had not joined the BJP or the CPI (M),” he said. Taking an exception to Adhikari’s branding him as an extortionist, Banerjee said that while his name has never cropped up in the Narada sting or other scams, it was Adhikari who should hold a mirror to himself. Without taking Adhikari’s name, he said, “You have raised the slogan to remove extortionist ‘bhaipo’ (nephew).– PTI