With months to the general elections of 2024, the rift within the hastily cobbled-up opposition alliance I.N.D.I. bloc is widening rapidly. Recently, TMC and Congress traded barbs at each other after Mamata Banerjee attended the G20 gala dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.
The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, took a sharp dig at the West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s decision to attend the dinner even as several opposition CMs had decided against attending the function.
Chowdhury, the West Bengal Congress president, wondered if there were any other reasons for Mamata Banerjee to attend the dinner, asking if her decision would not weaken her stand against the Modi government.
“When many non-BJP CMs refrained from attending the dinner, Didi (Mamata Banerjee) went to Delhi a day in advance. She attended the occasion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in the same room,” Ranjan said.
Taking a swipe at Ms Banerjee for attending the dinner, Ranjan, as quoted by India Today, said, “Sky wouldn’t have fallen if she had given it a pass. Mahabharata would not have become impure. The Quran would not have been impure.”
Chowdhury wondered, “I’m curious about what motivated her to make the journey to Delhi just to attend the dinner party with these leaders.”
The TMC sharply responded to the Congress leader’s criticism of Mamata Banerjee, stating that their party supremo was among the key movers behind the I.N.D.I bloc and he need not chastise her on protocols that are to be followed from the administrative point of view.
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Santanu Sen responded to Chowdhury’s aspersions, emphasising that Mamata Banerjee’s commitment to INDIA is well-known, and her role as one of its architects is unquestionable.
Mamata Banerjee’s reservations against I.N.D.I. allaince
Earlier last week, a report published in Swarajya Magazine said that Mamata Banerjee was eminently dissatisfied with the I.N.D.I bloc when the alliance met in Mumbai.
The report said Banerjee had made her reservations clear on the alliance having just one convenor. After Nitish Kumar’s name was proposed as the alliance convenor, Mamata Banerjee was reportedly worried that Kumar would have a stronger claim at the Prime Ministerial post should NDA fail to garner the required numbers to form a government at the Centre.
Mamata Banerjee also disapproved of the I.N.D.I bloc’s decision to float a common logo to mobilise its supporters ahead of the Lok Sabha 2024 elections. Banerjee and others who opposed the decision to fight under a common logo reportedly contended that parties would fight elections under their respective logos, so a new logo would confuse the voters.
