Ahead of the high-octane Lok Sabha clash slated for next year, the Opposition's INDIA bloc seems to be in hot waters, even before taking a complete structure. Congress’ Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday hinted at a fresh tussle after he said the grand old party was not going to beg for seats from Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal and they were capable of fighting on their own.
This came days after Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann took a dig at Congress saying the mothers in future will tell the ‘shortest story’-- ‘once there was a Congress’-- to their children.
Alleging that Mamata Banerjee was involved in serving Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Adhir said the letter was set to benefit if the INDI alliance was not formed. "We don’t want mercy from Mamata Banerjee. We can fight on our own. She doesn't want this coalition to be formed. PM Modi will be benefited most if this happens. Mamata Banerjee is serving PM Modi," he said.
The Congress leader made the comments when asked about the Trinamool Congress (TMC), according to sources, offering two seats to the Congress in West Bengal for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
There have been plenty of instances where a rift in the INDIA bloc surfaced publicly.
Congress Party on Monday hit back at Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann after the latter took a ‘shortest story’ jibe at the grand old party during a press conference. Taking strong offence to Mann’s comment, Congress’ Pawan Khera said both the BJP and AAP have been breeding a dream of ‘Congress Mukt Bharat’, and both will be defeated.“How similar are the views of 'AAP' and Modi ji!!Both of them dream of a Congress-free India. Both will be defeated. By the way, the name of a Bhojpuri picture is 'Ek Tha Joker'.You must have seen it?”Khera wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
During a press conference, Punjab CM Mann said a child's mother would tell him/her shortest story, and that would be ‘ek the Congress’ (Once there was a Congress).
Notably, the Congress and AAP are part of the INDIA bloc, a coalition formed to curtail the rise of the mighty BJP in 2024 polls. Punjab Congress leaders, including PPCC chief Amarinder Singh ‘Raja Warring’ and senior leader Pratap Bajwa have often apprised the party's high command of potential damage to the party if they frame an alliance with AAP in Punjab. It was only when Mann was asked about the reluctance of Punjab Congress leaders that he took the jibe at the grand old party.