Amid opposition unity talks, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday attacked the TMC alleging it was fighting elections in Meghalaya to ensure the BJP comes to power in the state, drawing a sharp reaction from the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
The remarks by Rahul Gandhi at his first election rally in Shillong came against the backdrop of the latest comments by Congress president Malikarjun Kharge that his party was in talks with other opposition parties and would lead an alliance for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections to come to power at the Centre.
Slamming the Trinamool Congress(TMC), Rahul Gandhi raised the incidents of ”violence and scams” in West Bengal where it is in power. He also took on the BJP alleging it was like a ”class bully” that respects no one as it thinks that it knows everything.
”You know the history of the TMC — the violence and scams that take place in West Bengal. You are aware of their tradition. They spent a huge amount of money in Goa (polls) and the idea was to help the BJP. That is exactly the idea in Meghalaya. The TMC’s idea in Meghalaya is to ensure that the BJP is strengthened and come to power,” he claimed. Assembly elections in Meghalaya are due to be held on February 27.
Senior TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee hit back at Rahul, saying the ”irrelevance and incompetence” of the Congress had put them in a state of delirium.
Abhishek Banerjee, who is the TMC’s national general secretary, said the Gandhi scion must revisit the politics of vanity instead of attacking Bengal’s ruling party.
”Congress has failed to resist BJP. Their(Congress) irrelevance, incompetence & insecurity has put them in a state of delirium. I urge Rahul Gandhi to revisit their politics of vanity instead of attacking us. Our growth isn’t driven by money; it is people’s love that propels us,” Banerjee said in a series of tweets.
With inputs from News18