By IANS,
Kolkata : Asserting that its tie-up with the Congress will stretch beyond the Lok Sabha polls, West Bengal’s principal opposition Trinamool Congress Monday ridiculed the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) for trying to endear itself to the Congress.
“Why are they (CPI-M) falling at the feet of the Congress? Is it because they have realised that the going is getting tough for them?” Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee asked at a press conference here Monday.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister and CPI-M politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had described party chief Prakash Karat’s stand that the Left would not support the Congress in government formation as a pre-poll stand.
Talking about the recently formed alliance with the Congress, Banerjee said: “Our alliance will continue in the future also. It is a very secular and stable alliance.”
She assailed Bhattacharjee for his comment that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and its prime ministerial candidate L.K. Advani – who visited the state twice – did not criticise her party.
“I have said so many times that I am opposed to the communal politics of the BJP. The CPI-M has a pact with the BJP for this election and it is not surprising that Advani held meetings only in those areas where Trinamool is strong,” she said.
Banerjee asserted that it was her understanding that the Congress was not interested in a post-poll alliance with the CPI-M.
She alleged that the CPI-M was trying to divide the Hindu-Muslim votes in the state.