Go to polls without Mamata's pic, risk failure: Trinamool

Kolkata, Jan 6: With the spat between the Trinamool Congress and the Congress turning ugly with every passing day, the war of words between representatives of both parties have taken a turn for the worse. The rift hit a new-low when TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee slammed the Congress for daring to oppose West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

In a reply to former WBPCC president and now Cabinet member under Mamata, Manas Bhuniya's comments earlier, Chatterjee said, "It is not a dignified thing to be a part of the cabinet of the present government and at the same time criticize it. One should not remain in the post (then)."

Chatterjee also issued a veiled warning of sorts and added, "Please go to polls without the picture of Mamata Banerjee adorning your campaign. Your deposit will be forfeited."

Further mounting the attacks on the Congress, another Trinamool Minister Firad Hakim launched his tirade against Congress MLAs and said that the West Bengal government was not dependent on the Congress, but was the other way round. He added that they had a two-thirds majority. He commented, "In Delhi, the Congress government will have to depend on us."

To add spice to the rift, the TMC has announced that its youth wing will hold a rally in Kolkata on Jan 9 to counter the Congress campaign. Chatterjee also stated, "It is of serious concern to us, the way the CPM and the Congress are speaking in the same language and campaigning against the Mamata Banerjee government. She is the face of the people in the state and any attempt to malign it will meet with a disastrous end.”

On the chances of a possible split in the alliance, he said, "We will cross the bridge when we come to it.”

OneIndia News