Mamata-Rahul bonhomie stuns Left, Congress
Kolkata: With the TMC and the Congress cozying up to each other on the issue of demonetisation, the political equation in West Bengal has taken a new turn with the CPI(M) and the state unit of the Congress clueless about how to respond to the development.
The recent bonhomie between Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi and Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has ignited a fresh debate within the state Congress leadership, which is opposed to the TMC in Bengal.
Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury said, “The state Congress is not a separate entity. It is part of the AICC. In Bengal, the (pre-poll) alliance (with the Left Front) was forged under instructions from the AICC. So, now it is for them to decide what will be our political line in the state.”
Mr Chowdhury, however, added that the TMC could never be a “reliable ally” in Congress’ fight against note ban, referring to it as being a “party whose top leadership is a prime accused in the chit fund scam”.
The CPI(M), which had faced the ire of its Left Front partners and several factions of the Marxist party itself for forging a pre-poll alliance with the Congress, was left red-faced after Tuesday’s joint press conference in New Delhi.
The CPI(M) leaders, however, tried to put up a brave face by saying, “you should not read too much”. “Earlier, we have seen Mamata Banerjee marching to Rashtrapati Bhavan with the Shiv Sena. So, does that mean she will forge an alliance with them? Alliances are not forged on the basis of press conferences,” its politburo member Md Salim said, while refusing to comment on whether the Left-Congress alliance would continue in the days to come.