Mamata Banerjee responsible for rise of BJP-RSS in West Bengal, says state Congress chief

Kolkata: West Bengal Congress president Somen Mitra Saturday blamed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for the rise of BJP and RSS in the state, saying had she not pusued policy of "blatant minority appeasement", the saffron party would not have gained footing. WBPCC chief further said that Banerjee who had been poaching leaders of the Opposition parties was now facing difficulty to protect her own existence, hinting at exodus of Trinamool Congress leaders to the BJP.

File photo of West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI

Talking to reporters Mitra lambasted Banerjee for "weakening" the Opposition unity which helped the BJP in the general election. In the non-BJP camp, the TMC, CPI-M and Congress fought separetly in Bengal. The BJP bagged 18 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal out of a total of 42, only four less than TMC. Congress managed to win two seats, down from four in 2014. CPM which ruled Bengal  or 34 years, drew a blank.

Buoyed by the massive victory, the saffron party's leaders have been asserting that they will overthrow the Trinamool Congress government in the 2021 Assembly polls. "Mamata Banerjee is solely responsible for the rise of  BJP and RSS in Bengal. Had she not pursued the policy of blatant minority appeasement, BJP wouldn't have found a footing in Bengal.

"Her policy of removing all opposition, poaching Opposition leaders and representatives has only led to the rise of BJP. Now she has no right to complain about it," Mitra told reporters. Those who once strengthened the hands of BJP to weaken Congress will now find it difficult to protect their own existence, Mitra said apparently referring to flight of TMC leaders to BJP in Bengal.

"Even before elections, Mamata Banerjee was busy with her dreams of becoming Prime Minister. Time and again she had tried to undermine the Congress leadership," Mitra, who replaced Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury as West Bengal Congress president in September, said.  Mitra, however, lamented that had there been a CPM-Congress alliance in the state, the march of BJP could have been halted in the state. "The CPI(M) was not serious about alliance. They tried to impose their decisions on us. That's the reason the alliance didn't work out," he said.