NDA Govt May Collapse At Any Time, say Mamata And Akhilesh in Kolkata Rally

Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party, key members of the INDIA bloc, declared on Sunday that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is nearing its end. This show of unity underscores their commitment to challenging the ruling party in the upcoming elections, aiming to present a strong, united opposition, writes ETV Bharat's Dipankar Bose.

Kolkata: In a show of unity among the two prime constituents of the INDIA bloc, Mamata Banerjee of the Trinamool Congress and Akhilesh Yadav of the Samajwadi Party on Sunday said in unison that the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre is short-lived.

“This government at the Centre is not a stable one. It will collapse any day. This government in Delhi is aided by investigating agencies and the Election Commission, which work at the behest of one party. But, this is not going to continue for long,” Mamata said while addressing a massive rally at Kolkata’s Esplanade area. The Trinamool Congress supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee were addressing the Martyrs' Day rally in the metropolis on July 21.

“Communal forces are conspiring today. Those who are at the helm of affairs in Delhi, want to continue their rule by dividing people. They engage in divisive politics. In Bengal, you fought unitedly and defeated the BJP. We also defeated the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The government, which is presently in Delhi, is a government of few days. This government cannot continue, this government will collapse. When people of the country wake up, all these divisive and communal forces will be defeated,” said Akhilesh in his address, who was present at the Trinamool rally as a special guest of Mamata Banerjee.

In turn, the Trinamool supremo said, “I want Bengal to be represented well in the national sphere and it has started from here today. I thank Akhilesh Yadav for responding to our invitation to today's rally. It shows the unity we have among ourselves. The journey has started and it will only go ahead leaps and bounds. One has to understand that the NDA coalition has only 46% of the votes and the INDIA bloc parties have polled 51% of the votes. They are already defeated. After the spectacular result of Akhilesh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh, the BJP should have resigned from that state. But, they have nothing called shame,” said Mamata. Later, she turned towards Akhilesh and added, “Don’t worry. You will only have to wait for a few more days before they (BJP) leave.”

Mamata also said that a few parties joined hands with the BJP, “Either out of compulsion or out of greed. However, they will soon understand the price of this compromise. Trinamool Congress will never have any truck with the BJP.”

In response, the Samajwadi Party chief said, “I thank you for inviting me here. The relationship between a leader and the workers is what I saw today when I was on my way to this rally. This bonding of Mamata Didi and her workers, is what takes a party forward,” said Akhilesh adding, “Today is a day to remember the martyred workers. Not all political parties are lucky enough to have party workers, who can lay down their lives for the party. Workers are the biggest leaders of any party.”

“We do not indulge in negative politics, we only do positive politics. We will all fight together to save the country and to save the Constitution. The fight that is in front of us in the coming days, I promise that I will be with you always,” Akhilesh Yadav said.

The Samajwadi Party president reached Kolkata and before reaching the rally venue, held a brief meeting with Mamata Banerjee at her Kalighat residence. The opposition is all set to corner the government over the NEET-UG examination scam among other issues when Parliament meets tomorrow for the Budget session.