New Delhi: Trinamool Congress leader Derek O'Brien Thursday held West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury responsible for an alliance not working out between the two parties in West Bengal.
The remark came a day after West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee announced that her party will fight the Lok Sabha polls "alone" in the state. "Three reasons for the alliance not working in Bengal Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury," O'Brien told reporters here. He also claimed that the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) had many detractors but only two -- the BJP and Chowdhury -- have repeatedly spoken out against the bloc.
The TMC leader further alleged that Chowdhury was working at the behest of the BJP. "The voice is his, but the words are being dictated to him by the duo in Delhi. In the past two years, Adhir Chowdhury has spoken the language of the BJP. Not once has he raised the issue of Bengal being deprived of central funds," O'Brien said.
"He even endorses ED actions in Bengal when they are against Trinamool. He holds special press conferences to belittle Mamata Banerjee and barely speaks against BJP leaders," he added. Asked whether the TMC remains part of the INDIA grouping, O'Brien said, "After the general elections, if the Congress does its job and defeats the BJP on a substantial number of seats, the Trinamool Congress will very much be a part of the front that believes and fights for the Constitution and plurality."
Banerjee's sudden comments on Wednesday forced the Congress to adopt a conciliatory approach with party general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh asserting that the opposition bloc INDIA "cannot be imagined without Mamata Banerjee". O'Brien, however, stressed that the TMC has "turned the page".
The Trinamool Congress had been upset with Chowdhury's repeated attacks on Banerjee. The Congress leader recently called the West Bengal chief minister an "opportunist" and said that his party would fight the polls alone. The party has also been upset over seat-sharing talks with the Congress. The ruling party in West Bengal had offered two Lok Sabha seats to the Congress for the elections. Later, sources said the party could have accommodated another seat.
After Banerjee's announcement that her party has decided to go solo in the state, party sources said there had been no communication with the Congress for at least the past two weeks on seat-sharing. During the December 19 meeting of the INDIA bloc in Delhi, the TMC had given a December 31 deadline for finalising seat-sharing arrangements. The party later agreed to wait a bit longer as the Congress' National Alliance Committee was holding meetings at the beginning of January.
However, the TMC's offer of two seats did not go down well with the Congress, which said it was too little.
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