On the eve of the Congress’ 85th plenary session to be held here, the party’s communication chief Jairam Ramesh stepped up the attack on Trinamool Congress, as he seemed to question the Trinamool’s role in keeping the Opposition united against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Mr. Ramesh questioned several of the recent actions of the Trinamool, including its role in the recently concluded Tripura elections and its stance on the Adani-Hindenburg issue.
“In Tripura, the BJP is the main enemy of the Congress-Left alliance. It is the Trinamool Congress which has given every indication of being soft on the BJP,” he said.
“In the past 24 hours in West Bengal, systematic efforts have been made by the ruling government in West Bengal to discredit and get the Congress candidate for the bypoll disqualified because he is in a very strong winning position,” Mr. Ramesh said.
In a reference to the Trinamool, Mr. Ramesh asked which was the only Opposition party that had not pressed for a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani controversy.
“All [Opposition] political parties were united for a JPC, which is the only political party that did not want a JPC? That should tell you everything,” he said.
Earlier, he sidestepped a question on the likely place for the Trinamool Congress and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi in an alliance led by the Congress, saying that the answers would be provided in the Congress president’s speech.
Later, he ducked another question on the Trinamool questioning the Congress’ own ability to defeat the BJP saying “it’s not a press conference on Trinamool”, but quickly added that Trinamool members in Meghalaya had been in the Congress in the past.
“If the Trinamool is so serious about working with the Congress party, they should stop poaching Congress members. They tried to do this in Goa but failed miserably,” he said.
Opposition unity
Mr. Ramesh, however, asserted that the Opposition was united and that his party knew and recognised its role in keeping the Opposition united and strengthening that unity. He added that the Congress itself needed to be strengthened to make that unity effective.
Mr. Ramesh also said that alliances were not something new for the Congress as the party had been in coalitions in seven to eight States. He further said that the coalition question could wait as there were Assembly elections in several States, including Chhattisgarh, before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Congress was a key player in all those States.
CWC polls
The suspense over holding elections to the Congress Working Committee – the party’s highest decision making authority to which 12 members are elected – continued. Mr. Ramesh said that the question would only be answered after the steering committee met on Friday.
“This decision will be made by the steering committee tomorrow [February 24]. We are ready for polls, all preparations have been made. If the decision is in favour of the elections, elections will be conducted,” he said.
On the issues to be discussed during the session in Raipur, Mr. Ramesh said that the Congress would discuss politics, economy, international affairs, youth, employment, agriculture and social justice.
