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'If Congress didn't exist...': Adhir Ranjan jabs Mamata Banerjee after her attack
On Friday, Mamata had stated there was no point in waiting for the Congress as she reached out to regional parties to push for an anti-BJP alliance.
Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Saturday hit out at chief minister Mamata Banerjee, a day after she said there was no point of depending on the Congress to be the largest opposition party in India and work towards forging an anti-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance ahead of the 2024 general election. Mamata's remarks came after the BJP's big win in four Assembly elections, including the politically crucial Uttar Pradesh, and the Congress suffering a big flop, even losing the state of Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party.
“Why are you making remarks against Congress? If Congress didn't exist then people like Mamata Banerjee would not have been born. She should remember this,” Adhir Ranjan said, seeking to remind Mamata that it was with Congress that she began her political career in the early 1970s.
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“They went to Goa to please BJP, they made Congress lose. You weakened Congress in Goa, everyone knows this,” he said, reiterating his 'pleasing BJP' charges against Mamata.
“Not right to respond to a mad person. Congress has 700 MLAs across India. Does Didi have it? Congress has 20% of Opposition's total vote share. Does she have it? She's saying this to please BJP and act as its agent. She says things like this to stay relevant,” he added.
On Friday, Mamata had stated there was no point in waiting for the Congress as she reached out to regional parties to push for an anti-BJP alliance. She had said the Congress lacked 'fire in the belly. "I feel all the political parties who want to fight against the BJP must work together. There is no point in depending on Congress," the Trinamool chief said.
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She pointed out that while the Congress was "earlier capable of winning as it had an organisation" now they "are losing everywhere".
"It (the party) doesn't seem they are interested anymore (in winning). They have lost credibility, and there is no point in depending on them," she said, as she also appealed to the collective force of many strong regional parties.
In the February-March polls, the BJP stormed back to power in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur, and Goa. Arvind Kejriwal's AAP scripted a stellar victory in Punjab, winning a three-fourth majority and snatching the state from the ruling Congress. The outcome of these elections is being seen as a litmus test for the BJP ahead of the next Lok Sabha elections.
