Mamata Banerjee’s appeal for a united anti-BJP platform in West Bengal was rejected by Left parties and the Congress
CPI(M) leader Md Salim said the party would not align with those “identified as criminal, extortionist, corrupt, or communal”
Congress leaders accused Banerjee of weakening the INDIA bloc and helping the BJP grow in Bengal, while Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari called her “politically irrelevant”
Left, Congress Reject Mamata Banerjee’s Call For Anti-BJP Front In Bengal
CPI(M) and Congress accuse former CM of weakening Opposition unity after TMC’s defeat in the Assembly polls
Summary
After appealing to all opposition parties in West Bengal to come together to form a "joint platform" to fight the BJP, which came to power in the state, the outgoing West Bengal Chief Minister's proposal was rejected by left parties.
The TMC leader was rejected by all other opposition parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Congress.
“Absolutely not. We will not accept anyone identified as a criminal, extortionist, corrupt, or communal. We will stand by the people and the marginal population,” said CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim.
Additionally, State Congress spokesperson Soumya Aich Roy said, “We can’t believe our ears. You (Banerjee) invited national parties, indicating the Congress, Left and the ultra-Left to join you. What do you mean by ultra-Left? Do you mean the Maoists, who killed 18 Congress leaders and workers in Chhattisgarh on May 25, 2013?”
Speaking about the INDIA bloc, he added, “Congress is fighting the BJP across India. When we formed an alliance in 2016, you called us names. You carried out a vilification campaign against us even in the recent polls. All these years, you made every effort to wipe us out and thus widen the road for the BJP. Now you want us beside you?”
“The proverbial cat climbs the tree only under duress,” Roy said. “She has never been sincere in fighting the RSS-BJP, and kept weakening INDIA at every opportunity. She brought in and established the BJP in Bengal. Now that her own palace has been razed to the ground, she suddenly remembers us. We, Madam, are not in the habit of opportunistic flip-flops.”
Communist Party of India (CPI) state secretary Swapan Banerjee said, “The question of joining forces with Banerjee doesn’t arise. Democracy was in peril during her regime. Her mindset is so authoritarian that she did not resign as CM after her defeat.”
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The new Chief Minister, Suvendu, responded to Mamata’s claims, saying, “She is politically irrelevant. I do not wish to comment on the politically irrelevant.”
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