The Trinamul Congress on Monday again attacked the Congress, repeating Mamata Banerjee’s charge that the ally was working hand-in-glove with the CPI(M) and her barb that the ally was free to leave the alliance. The Trinamul Youth Congress organised a rally at the foot of the Gandhi statue which was turned into an occasion for Congress-bashing. Ms Banerjee herself was not present but all top state Trinamul Congress leaders and ministers and even Union ministers like Saugata Roy and Sudip Bandopadhyay addressed the rally. Speaker after speaker reviled and ridiculed the Congress. Some called it a stooge of the CPI(M) and others dared it to fight an election without Ms Banerjee’s cut-out. It was Trinamul Congress secretary-general and state commerce and industries minister Partha Chatterjee who set the ball rolling for Congress-bashing. “The Congress will have to make its position clear: whether it wants to work in tandem with the CPI(M) or will remain with the Trinamul Congress. We will not tolerate duplicity,” he added.
The Congress was shown the “door” by Ms Banerjee on Saturday. Borrowing the phrase from her, Mr Chatterjee said: “Some of them are saying that their party will not leave from the back door but from the main door. We want to tell them that all doors are open for them to go.”
Claiming that the Congress leaders had used Ms Banerjee’s image for their political survival, Mr Chatterjee said, “If they have the guts let them face elections without Mamata’s cut-outs and prove that they can win on their own.”