BJP asks Mamata to quit NDA for siding with Cong

Kolkata, Aug 29: The West Bengal BJP today lambasted All India Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee for deciding to back the Congress and not the BJP candidate in next month's byelection for Malda Lok Sabha seat and threatened to sever all ties with her party.

Criticising the formal announcement of the AITC chief here yesterday in this regard, ending all speculations about her decision about the future of the long-time electoral ties with the party, BJP state president Tathagata Roy said it had only exposed her ''double standard''.

''How come she thought of continuing bonhomie with the BJP as well as with the NDA, while simultaneously maintaining a close lianson with the UPA and the Congress,'' he questioned and suggested that she better clear her intension and ''quit the NDA at the earliest''.

Incidentally, Ms Banerjee in a party convention here yesterday categorically announced her decision to back Congress candidate for Malda Lok Sabha seat Abu Hasnat Khan Chowdhury, the bother of A B A Ghani Khan Chowdhury, instead of the BJP nominee B Roy Chowdhury.

The AITC, however, did not put up any candidate for the seat in respect of Mr Ghani Khan Chowdhury, whose death earlier this year had necessaited the byelection on September 16.

This had infuriated the state BJP leadership, which minced no word to lambast the AITC supremo and wanted to severe all ties with her party in the coming byelections for three Lok Sabha seats of Malda, Katwa and Purulia and one Assembly seat of Bongaon where the AITC had put up Prof Saugata Roy as the party candidate.

UNI