New Delhi: Labelling West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee as "BJP informer," Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, accused her of creating rift between Congress and other opposition parties on Thursday.
This comes a day after Mamata Banerjee launched an attack on Congress by claiming that there is no UPA in the country now. She also took a dig at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi saying that "a continuous endeavour is necessary for politics, you (Rahul) can't be abroad most of the time. "
When asked about the matter, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said, "20 per cent of popular votes are with Congress while TMC is having only 4 per cent popular votes. Can you fight Modi without this share of 20 per cent votes? She wants to break and weaken Congress and opposition by becoming Modi’s informer."
He also reacted to the controversy created over Mamata Banerjee’s singing national anthem while being seated and abruptly stopping in between, by saying, "She doesn’t know how to respect the national anthem. She is more interested in praising her nephew than doing something for the country."
During a press conference, Congress spokesperson and General secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala also attacked Mamata Banerjee by giving a chronology of TMC supremo's political career and saying, "There’s a difference between fighting for ideology and political opportunism. You kept hopping between NDA-UPA as per your convenience, you should not give us lessons on ideology."
He further added, "Secondly, Mamata Banerjee is not a part of UPA. She should look within. Rahul Gandhi is fighting a battle against BJP on moral grounds. We never stand with BJP. Mamata Banerjee should think if she is doing the same as Modi Ji. Both are poaching MLAs, diving parties. Is she following the same ideology as BJP?" He also gave an example of Goa and Uttrakhand where TMC is contesting elections against Congress.
Earlier on Thursday, Congress leader Kapil Sibal had also tweeted over the matter, saying, "Without the Congress, UPA will be a body without a soul. Time to show opposition unity." Congress' senior leader Anand Sharma had also reacted over the matter tweeting, "To oppose and defeat the BJP, a broad-based understanding and cooperation among secular, progressive and democratic political parties on people's issues is the need of the hour. That will connect with people's expectations. Congress, as a principal national opposition party, remains a central pillar for a collective national effort."
Prashant Kishor blasts Congress, Rahul Gandhi
Meanwhile, poll strategist Prashant Kishor also made a sharp attack on Congress and Rahul Gandhi by tweeting, "The IDEA and SPACE that #Congress represents is vital for a strong opposition. But Congress' leadership is not the DIVINE RIGHT of an individual especially when the party has lost more than 90% of elections in the last 10 years. Let opposition leadership be decided Democratically." However, Congress refused to comment on Kishor's comment, saying that "we don't want to comment on an advisor's remarks."
