Berhampore: West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has claimed that opposition alliance INDIA is set to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, but put the blame for the breakup of that alliance on West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee. "Why did you break the INDIA alliance?" Chowdhury asked at a press conference in Berhampore on Monday, April 1.
Accusing Mamata of breaking the INDIA alliance, Chowdhury said, "Neither Arvind Kejriwal nor Hemant Soren broke the INDIA alliance. So, today they are in jail for revenge politics. Mamata Banerjee and nephew Abhishek are out of jail today because she brokered with BJP. If anyone has broken INDIA, it is Mamata Banerjee. She did it to help the BJP."
To allegations that Trinamool Congress is threatening voters to withdraw the 'Lakshmi Bhandar' scheme if they do not vote for Trinamool Congress, Chowdhuray said, "Blackmailing is being done on the poverty of people. The amount of Lakshmi Bhandar money has been hiked to Rs 1000 before the polls. In Karnataka, the Congress government gave rupees two thousand to Lakshmi Bhandar."
The Congress has announced that every woman will be given Rs 1 lakh per year if the party is voted to power. “The government will spend Rs 1 lakh for technical training of unemployed youth so that they can secure a job and can become self-reliant with training," Chowdhury further added.
Meanwhile Trinamool Congress's state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh has hit back at Chowdhury over his claims that Mamata broke away from the INDIA opposition bloc. Ghosh accused Chowdhury of “spreading a falsehood” that Mamata Banerjee has severed ties with the INDIA bloc.
Ghosh said that the TMC decided to go solo in the Lok Sabha elections in West Bengal “since the state Congress unit is working as a double agent for the BJP and the CPI(M)”.
