Adhir Ranjan's traitor jibe at Mamata Banerjee triggers war of words in Bengal

KOLKATA: A political slugfest surfaced in West Bengal on Monday after state Congress President Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury accused Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of being a “traitor” to the opposition INDIA bloc.

“What kind of fear prompted the Chief Minister to break away from the INDIA bloc? Arvind Kejriwal or Hemant Soren did not break away from the opposition alliance, and as a result, both are behind bars now. The Chief Minister of West Bengal has clandestinely surrendered before the BJP just to save her dear ones from the clutches of the CBI and the ED,” five-time Lok Sabha MP Chowdhury told mediapersons on Monday.

He also said that if the Chief Minister so proudly claims that the name ‘INDIA bloc’ was her brainchild, what was the reason for her to break away from that alliance?

“Whom did you want to please by breaking away from the opposition bloc even after accepting Rahul Gandhi as its leader once? Why did you unanimously announce Trinamool candidates for all the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state? These are my straight questions to the Chief Minister,” Chowdhury said.

Reacting to the Congress leader’s charges, Trinamool’s state General Secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “Chowdhury is spreading a falsehood that Mamata Banerjee has severed ties with the INDIA bloc. Can he explain these charges to his leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, who have time and again embraced our Chief Minister?

“I am saying it again that the term INDIA bloc was Mamata Banerjee’s brainchild. The Trinamool has decided to go solo in West Bengal since the Congress’ state unit is working as a double agent for the BJP and the CPI(M),” Ghosh said.