Being under severe pressure, as a formal or informal alliance between the Congress and the Communists appears to be a possibility in Bengal in the forthcoming Assembly election, the Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee invoked the names of Gandhi family members to underscore the traditional rivalry between Left and the Centrists in Indian politics.
“CPI(M) insulted Rajiv Gandhi and Indira Gandhi. Mr. Gandhi was called ‘Bofors Gandhi’, while Indiraji was described as a ‘dictator’. They used to paint Indira Gandhi on the wall with black face and nose. But now they have changed colours and so did the Congress,” said Ms. Banerjee.
The observers feel, the statement is directed to appease the Congress president Sonia Gandhi who is yet to give a formal go ahead to the alliance. Ms. Banerjee has been maintaining close touch with Sonia Gandhi to ensure that a Bihar-like Grand Alliance does not take place in Kolkata. She was speaking in Kolkata in party’s General Council meeting.
