PANAJI: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Monday rebutted West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee who sought to position the Trinamool Congress (TMC) as the primary opponent to Goa’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), insisting that the Congress was best placed to fight the Narendra Modi government “all across the country”.
Chidambaram also rejected Mamata Banerjee’s contention that the Congres didn’t take politics seriously, saying she was only looking at the political situation from the ‘Bengal lens’.
“The Congress is the only party which is fighting Narendra Modi and his government all over India. I do not dispute that Banerjee fought and won a tough fight in Bengal, but who is fighting Narendra Modi in Punjab, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, TN, Kerala, Karnataka, Assam? It is the Congress party that is fighting.
“She is looking at it from the Bengal lens. But if you look at all India, which is more than Bengal, the party that is at the forefront at the fight against Narendra Modi every day, fighting tweeting, addressing press conferences, agitations in the Congress party,” Chidambaram said.
“I don’t know what their (TMC’s) intention is, but I’m pretty sure that if the people of Goa want a change of government, then it is the Congress alone that can provide it,” he added, delivering the Congress’ counter to the TMC effort to present itself as the only opposition party that could present a formidable challenge to the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}“I don’t know what their (TMC’s) intention is, but I’m pretty sure that if the people of Goa want a change of government, then it is the Congress alone that can provide it,” he added, delivering the Congress’ counter to the TMC effort to present itself as the only opposition party that could present a formidable challenge to the BJP.
{{/usCountry}}Mamata Banerjee, who was in Goa last week, hit out at the Congress who she said was responsible for the rise of Narendra Modi into the powerful leader that he is.
“Modiji is going to be so powerful because of Congress. If one cannot take a decision, why will the country suffer for that? They have got enough opportunities. Instead of BJP, they contested against me in my state. How do they expect that they will contest me and we will only give flowers to them? And sweets to them?” Mamata Banerjee said on Saturday during her two-day visit to the state.
Banerjee was non-committal on building a nationwide anti-BJP alliance that included the Congress but instead suggested it should be regional parties that should come together to take on the BJP.
“We want committed people, the committed local political parties who are really fighting who really want to fight against the BJP let us work together,” she added.