Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and her political advisor and election strategist Prashant Kishor are under attacks from the Congress leaders for ridiculing the stature of the grand old party by denying the existence of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) which was headed by the Congress.
Banerjee on Wednesday drew sharp criticism from many Congress leaders for her comments on Wednesday in Mumbai, where she was on a three-day visit, declaring that the UPA no longer existed and hinting that the Congress leadership was shy of fighting the mite of the ruling BJP. She had also hinted that the “strong opposition” parties would have to regroup to form an opposition alliance minus the Congress.
The noted poll strategist Prashant Kishor, who was the political advisor of Banerjee in the recent West Bengal Assembly elections and returned with a massive mandate in favour of her Trinamool Congress when the BJP was expressing confidence of romping home, also attacked the Congress leadership on Wednesday on similar lines. The UPA leadership was no “divine rights” of any party or individual and the leader must be “chosen democratically,” he had tweeted.
Banerjee’s attack prompted some Congress leaders to sharpen their criticism of the West Bengal chief minister who they alleged had started feeling to be the “supreme leader” of all opposition parties after mauling the BJP in her state pointing out that “India is not West Bengal and West Bengal alone is not India.”
Underlining the need for an unified opposition to challenge the BJP, the senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Thursday said without the Congress, the UPA would be a body without a soul and asserted that it was time to show opposition unity. “Time to show opposition unity,” Sibal tweeted.
The leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused the TMC supremo of starting “madness” with her comments. “Does Mamata Banerjee not know what UPA is? I think she has started madness,” he said. “She thinks the whole of India has started chanting ‘Mamata, Mamata’. But India doesn’t mean Bengal and Bengal alone doesn’t mean India.”
After a meeting with the veteran politician and Nationalist Congress Party Chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai, Banerjee took a swipe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday, stating that “you can’t be abroad most of the time.”
“There is an environment of fascism in the country today. A strong alternative needed to be given against it. Nobody can do it alone. Those who are strong should be taken together,” she said in a press briefing. Asked whether Pawar would lead the UPA, she said: “What UPA? There is no UPA now. We will decide on it together.”
In a veiled jab at Banerjee, Congress Legislative Party Leader and Maharashtra Revenue Minister Balasaheb Thorat said the country was well aware of the fight the Congress has put up against the “oppression” of the BJP and the Central government.
“No individual party can fight against BJP by directly or indirectly criticising Rahul Gandhi if that party continues to think about its political gain and personal ambitions. The Congress is the only viable option for the country and the democracy,” he said.
He went on to say that the Congress had fearlessly fought the BJP government in the last seven years under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. “He and his entire family were subjected to personal attacks by BJP and other parties. Defamatory campaigns were carried out against him, but Rahul Gandhi did not back down.”
Congress’s Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge said, “We’ve tried to include them (TMC) in various socio-political issues where Congress made its name. Opposition should not get divided & fight amongst themselves, we’ve to fight against BJP together.”
Senior Congress leader Ashok Chavan said it was essential for all non-BJP parties in the country not to indulge in politics that supports the Centre’s “divide and rule” policy. “India has seen and supported the aggressive stand the Congress had taken for the withdrawal of the anti-people law of land acquisition and three black farm laws,” he said. “In future also, this fight for the rights of common people will continue under the able and strong leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and our leader Rahul Gandhi,” he said.
The Congress leaders hitting out at Banerjee brought her advisor on the forefront to defend her stand on the Congress taking a swipe at the party and its leadership claiming to be playing a leading role in the unified opposition front. Kishor on Thursday said the leadership of the Opposition should be decided democratically.
The criticism, apparently aimed at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, “The IDEA and SPACE that #Congress represents is vital for a strong opposition. But Congress’ leadership is not the DIVINE RIGHT of an individual especially, when the party has lost more than 90% elections in last 10 years. Let opposition leadership be decided Democratically,” Kishore wrote on Twitter.
His remark again sparked a sharp response from the Congress with party spokesperson Pawan Khera saying on Twitter, “The individual being discussed here is pursuing his Divine Duty to struggle and save Indian democracy from the RSS.” Hitting out at Kishor he said, “A professional without ideological commitment is free to advice parties/individuals on how to contest elections but he cannot set the agenda of our politics.”
Banerjee had visited NCP chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai and hinted at the possibility of forming a coalition of regional parties to defeat the BJP in 2024 general elections. However, she said that the coalition would not be along the lines of Congress-led UPA. “If all the regional parties are together, then it is very easy to defeat the BJP,” Banerjee said in Mumbai, adding “you can’t be abroad most of the time. Continuous endeavour is necessary in politics.” Rahul Gandhi has been criticised time and again by the opposition for his numerous overseas trips.
Two months ago, Kishor had been in talks with Congress party leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, prompting rumours that Kishor may be joining Congress. However, indications of a rift between the poll strategist and the party emerged after he publicly criticised its leaders following the Lakhimpur Kheri incident.
Kishor had said those hoping for a revival of the Congress based on its Lakhimpur Kheri intervention are setting themselves up for a big disappointment.
“People looking for a quick, spontaneous revival of GOP (Grand Old Party) led opposition based on #LakhimpurKheri incident are setting themselves up for a big disappointment. Unfortunately, there are no quick fix solutions to the deep-rooted problems and structural weakness of GOP,” Kishor had tweeted.
Kishor’s remarks, seen as aimed at the Gandhi siblings, came at a time when the aggressive political stance by Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi on the Lakhimpur Kheri deaths had enthused a section of Congress leaders, who believe the Gandhis are finally getting their act together. The Congress, these leaders believe, needed to show aggression, especially since parties such as TMC are trying to project their national ambitions.
The aggression by the Gandhi siblings was also seen in the context of recent potshots taken at the leadership by some of the ‘G 23’ leaders. Kishor was in talks with the Gandhis for making a formal entry into the Congress, and the leaders are believed to have been agreeable, too. Sources close to Rahul had said he had advised Kishor to join the party instead of hoping to play a role in election and campaign management of the party.
In fact, the Congress leadership, it is learnt, had discussed a “plan of action” proposed by Kishor to revive and rejuvenate the party and make it battle-ready for 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Several members of the Congress Working Committee were reported to be meeting in groups to discuss what was said to be a “reform and revival” agenda for the party.
Sources in the party had then said the blueprint in discussion was submitted by Kishor during his meeting with the Gandhis in July — he had met Rahul and Priyanka on July 13, and had had at least one meeting with Sonia Gandhi earlier. A section of the Congress leaders said Kishor’s entry has hit rough weather, given his continued association with the TMC, which was increasingly criticising the Congress in its quest to carve out a space in national politics for itself.
