On February 22, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has not yet got over his ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ messy-beard look, claimed while addressing a political rally in Meghalaya that Trinamool Congress (TMC) helped Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Goa state elections.
#WATCH | You also know the history of TMC, you know the violence that takes place in Bengal…You’re aware of their tradition, they came to Goa & spend huge amount of money as their idea was to help BJP. TMC’s idea in #Meghalaya is to ensure that BJP comes to power: #RahulGandhi pic.twitter.com/fxHJ7TRUnY
— The Times Of India (@timesofindia) February 22, 2023
In his speech, Gandhi said, “You also know the history of TMC, you know the violence that takes place in Bengal. You know, the scams, the Sharda scams that had taken place. You are aware of their tradition, they came to Goa and spent a huge amount of money as their idea was to help BJP. This is exactly the idea in Meghalaya. TMC’s idea in Meghalaya is to ensure that BJP comes to power.”
TMC’s MP Mahua Moitra was the in-charge of the party’s Goa unit. In the 2022 elections in Goa, Congress had suffered a loss while BJP won a comfortable majority. Rahul’s claim of TMC “helping” the BJP is bizarre because the BJP was the ruling party before the elections and was slated to secure a majority. TMC’s vote share was 5% and they had failed to win a single seat.
Rahul’s statement is also ironic because the TMC and BJP are staunch political opponents while it is the Congress that maintains a cozy relationship with Mamata Banerjee’s party, often willing to enter into coalitions.
Post-poll violence in Bengal targeted BJP cadre
Though Gandhi claimed TMC’s idea was to help BJP in Goa, and the same is allegedly planned for Meghalaya, it is a far-fetched statement even for a leader like him. Not to forget, the post-poll violence in the state of Bengal was targeted at the BJP cadre. TMC goons attacked BJP workers and leaders consistently in the state, not just after the results of the 2021 assembly election but also before and throughout the run-up to the 2019 national elections.
Under TMC’s leadership, throwing petrol bombs, assaulting people, and even killings became the norm in West Bengal. Many BJP supporters and workers had to go into hiding after the violence broke out in the state.
Meghalaya Assembly Elections
The assembly elections in the state of Meghalaya are scheduled for February 27, 2023. Voting for all 60 assembly seats will be done in a single phase. The results of the Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tripura assembly elections will be announced on March 2, 2023. Among these, voting for Tripura has already occurred, while voting for Nagaland will also occur on February 27.
