TMC slams Congress: TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee on Sunday claimed that Congress appears to be serious about fighting against the BJP at the Centre, however, its West Bengal unit president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has never uttered a single word against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Banerjee said that neither Adhir Chowdhury nor any other leader of the state unit of Congress has stood by the poor who have been deprived of work due to the Centre, he alleged, stopping the MGNREGA funds.
“While top Congress leader like Rahul Gandhi engages in discussion with our leader Mamata Banerjee to strengthen the battle against BJP, we wonder what is the role of the state Congress chief who has never been seen uttering a single word against Amit Shah or Narendra Modi,” he said addressing a rally for the panchayat elections at Sujapur in Malda district.
"His (Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury) only intent seems to weaken the party led by Mamata Banerjee, who protects the interest of the people of Bengal. He gets security cover from Amit Shah's Home Ministry as he does not have faith in West Bengal Police," Banerjee added.
The TMC leader claimed that no CPI(M) leaders of West Bengal have spoken against the BJP.
"Have you ever seen Md Salim, Biman Bose and Sujan Chakraborty uttering a single word against the BJP's hate agenda? They lack the guts. Only TMC has the guts to take on the BJP,” he claimed.
Adhir Chowdhury responds
Retorting to his remarks, the Congress leader alleged that TMC has come to a secret understanding with the BJP.
"By opposing Congress in many states, CM Mamata Banerjee and her party weakened the anti-BJP alliance of secular and democratic parties, besides helping the BJP grow in West Bengal," he claimed.
CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya said the West Bengal chief minister's role in the fight against BJP is not above suspicion.
BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya alleged the funds of MGNREGA and PM Awas Yojana were not reaching the beneficiaries in West Bengal and were being siphoned off by TMC leaders, so it was stopped by the Centre.
"Everyone knows TMC means corruption. However hard Abhishek Banerjee or any other TMC leader may try, they cannot remove the stains. People of West Bengal have rejected the TMC," he added.
Rural West Bengal will vote in the panchayat polls on July 8.
(With PTI inputs)
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