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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday alleged that the Left is attempting to control the agenda of the Opposition’s INDIA alliance and underscored that no one confronts the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as directly as she does.
“I suggested the name INDIA during the opposition bloc meeting. But whenever I attend the meeting, I find the Left trying to control it,” the chief minister said, according to PTI. “This is not acceptable. I cannot agree with those with whom I had fought for 34 years.”
She added: “Despite such insults, I have adjusted and attended the INDIA bloc meetings.”
Mamata-led Trinamool Congress stormed to power for the first time in 2011, ending the 34-year-long rule of the Left Front government in West Bengal.
The chief minister made the remarks during an all-faith rally in Kolkata, aligning with the consecration ceremony of the idol of Ram Lalla at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya.
The Trinamool Congress is a key member of the opposition INDIA alliance led by the Congress, along with the CPI (M)-led Left Front, Congress, and TMC collectively constitute the 28-party strong INDIA opposition bloc. However, in West Bengal, the CPI(M) and Congress have aligned against the TMC and BJP.
On Monday, without naming the Congress, she criticised the delay in seat-sharing discussions within the INDIA block regarding West Bengal.
“I have the power and mass base to take on the BJP and fight against them. But some people don’t want to listen to us about seat sharing. If you don’t want to fight the BJP, then at least don’t give away seats to them,” she said, according to PTI.
Further, without naming Rahul Gandhi, she spoke on the controversy over his visit to a shrine in Assam, asserting that just going to the temple is not enough.
“How many politicians today took on the BJP head-on? Somebody went to one temple and thought it was sufficient, but it was not,” the chief minister said, according to PTI.
She added: “I am the only one who visited the temple, gurudwara, church, and mosque. I have been fighting for a long time. When the Babri Masjid issue (demolition) happened, and violence was taking place, I was on the streets.”
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