: A day after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee indicated that she is not averse to aligning with the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), State BJP president Rahul Sinha took a swipe at the development saying that he welcomes the “opportunistic” alliance.
Mr Sinha said on Saturday that the primary reason for All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)’s anxiety is erosion of its Muslim vote bank.
“Muslims constitute 28 per cent of the electorate in Bengal. So far 1.75 lakh Muslims have joined the BJP and the number is steadily increasing,” Mr. Sinha said here on Saturday.
He accused the AITC of trying to control the minority community by paying honorariums to imams. Mr. Sinha said that the AITC was afraid of the BJP’s rise in the State and wanted to “survive by aligning with the CPI (M).”
Reacting to Ms. Banerjee’s comment, CPI (M) MP and central committee member Md. Salim told The Hindu that she must “make her stand clear on communal politics.” As for Ms. Banerjee’s remark that no one is “untouchable”, he said that “this can also include Prime Minister Narendra Modi.” Raising question over Ms. Banerjee’s opposition to the BJP, Mr. Salim said that Ms. Banerjee never “repented” being a constituent of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.
Senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan said that his party does not need an “alliance with AITC to stop the BJP.” He claimed that Ms. Banerjee was afraid that BJP would come to power in West Bengal. “She has no political credibility. No party trusts Ms. Banerjee,” he added.
Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas said Ms. Banerjee’s comment was of “no importance” to his party. “She has neither a clear political stand nor ideology,” he added.
Ms. Banerjee remark that ‘nobody is untouchable in politics’ was made in an interview to a Bengali television channel 24 Ghanta.
