BJP taunts Stalin as he skips Rahul Gandhi for PM at Kolkata rally

Chennai, Jan 20: A day after show of unity in Kolkata, the BJP took a dig at DMK chief MK Stalin alleging that he has digressed from his pitch 'Congress chief Rahul Gandhi for Prime Minister'.

At a grand meeting of opposition leaders in Kolkata on Saturday, hosted by Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Stalin restrained from repeating his endorsement of Rahul Gandhi, he was needled by the BJP.

Why couldn't he say so in Kolkata? the BJP asked, claiming it exposed chinks in the proposed national alliance of the opposition parties.

"Last month, Stalin said Rahul Gandhi will be the prime ministerial candidate in Chennai. He could not say so in Kolkata. Such deviation showed his hesitancy and obstacles. These contradictions revealed the incohesion in the opposition unity," BJP's Tamil Nadu unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan told news agency PTI.

Stalin, however, stands firm on his proposal.

"Yes, I did propose Rahul Gandhi's name. What is wrong with it?" the son of M Karunanidhi said in Chennai today.

Opposition parties have maintained that the decision on the prime minister will be taken only after the national election.

"I had announced Rahul Gandhi's name at a function organised by the DMK. This is what the people of Tamil Nadu want. The situation is different in other states. In West Bengal, they decided to finalise the name after the election. It is their wish," Stalin clarified.

MK Stalin has credited the Congress chief for the party's victories in three heartland states and believes that "Rahul Gandhi has the ability to defeat the fascist Modi government and projecting him as the next prime minister is the right thing".