E-Paper
No difference of opinion between party and Prashant Kishor's I-PAC, claims Trinamool
Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien on Wednesday said Trinamool is a political party and I-PAC is its political collaborator which was seen as an attempt to draw a line between party and Prashant Kishor.
The Trinamool Congress on Thursday dismissed reports of rift and a difference of opinion between the party and Prashant Kishor's I-PAC, saying that under Mamata Banerjee's leadership, the party and I-PAC work as one team and will continue to collaborate in future. "There is absolutely no merit in the hugely speculative and unsubstantiated reporting regarding the difference of opinion or working relationship between TM and I-PAC," the party tweeted from its official handle.
On Wednesday, Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien said Trinamool and Prashant Kishor's I-PAC are not the same, which was seen as an attempt to draw a line between the two. The Rajya Sabha MP said I-PAC is a political collaborator with certain deliverables but the agency or any of its officials do not necessarily reflect the party's opinion, PTI reported.
"TMC is the first political party who have hired I-PAC for five years and they have certain deliverables to do. I-PAC has reach-out on the ground, communication and social media. All this is evaluated by the national working committee chaired by (West Bengal Chief Minister) Mamata Banerjee," Derek said.
The party's tweet puts rest to speculations that senior Trinamool leaders were not happy with the growing clout of Prashant Kishor inside the party which became evident after former Meghalaya CM Mukul Sangma and former Goa CM Luizinho Falerio said they switched to TMC after talking to Prashant Kishor.
Prashant Kishor has been assailing the Congress in his tweets that he posts intermittently. In the latest of his attacks, Prashant Kishor said Congress's leadership is not the divine right of an individual, in an apparent jibe at Rahul Gandhi.
