Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran and Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley on Saturday lashed out at the Trinamul Congress (TMC), saying it cannot escape the sins of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government as it was an important partner in the regime.
“The Trinamul Congress cannot deny its responsibility and escape the sins of the central government. Why were they mum when corruptions issues like 2G and Commonwealth Games surfaced? The people want this answer. They stayed mum so that this government survives,” Mr Jaitley said while addressing block presidents of the BJP here.
The Trinamul Congress, with its 19 MPs, is the second largest constituent in the UPA government after the Congress.
“They (TMC) will be a part of the union cabinet, enjoy each and every luxury but won’t take the responsibility of corruption charges. All these things cannot go hand in hand,” said Mr Jaitley.
Mr Jaitley also took a dig at the proposed alliance between the Trinamul and the Congress for the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal.
“It is an alliance of negativity. It is an alliance based only on seat adjustment to defeat the Left Front in the state,” he said.
The Trinamul and the Congress, along with the smaller Socialist Unity Centre of India-Communist (SUCI-C), joined hands before the 2009 Lok Sabha election and bagged 26 of the state’s 42 seats, dealing a major blow to the Left Front that has ruled the state since June 1977. — IANS