Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Sunday said that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was scared that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would have been unhappy with her had she stayed in the INDIA bloc.
The Congress leader said that Mamata Banerjee has sent a message to PMO that she is not standing against the BJP, therefore, he should not be angry with her.
“Mamata Banerjee has proven today that none of the political parties of India should trust a leader like her… Mamata Banerjee is in fear that if she continues to be in the INDIA alliance, PM Modi will be unhappy. By separating herself from the INDIA alliance, she has sent a message to the PMO, don’t be unhappy with me, I am not standing to fight against the BJP,” Chowdhury, one of Banerjee’s fiercest critic, said.
His remarks came shortly after Banerjee announced candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on all the 42 constituencies in West Bengal, marking her party TMC’s official exit from the Opposition’s INDIA bloc.
Even though Mamata has already announced to contest all the 42 seats in West Bengal, the Congress had been maintaining back channel talks were underway.
However, the unilateral announcement of candidates on all the constituencies of the state has proved a major setback back to the Opposition’s INDIA alliance.
Reacting to her decision, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said that the grand old party desired a respectable seat-sharing alliance.
“The Indian National Congress has repeatedly declared its desire to have a respectable seat-sharing agreement with the TMC in West Bengal. The Indian National Congress has always maintained that such an agreement has to be finalised through negotiations and not by unilateral announcements. The Indian National Congress has always wanted the INDIA group to fight the BJP together,” Ramesh said.