Partnership with Congress was CPI(M)'s biggest blunder: Mamata Banerjee

Kolkata: With Trinamool Congress set to return to power in West Bengal, party chief Mamata Banerjee on Thursday dubbed the coming together of CPI(M) and Congress as the greatest blunder and said people had rejected the canards spread by the opposition against her. Accusing the opposition of spinning a web of lies to grab power, Banerjee said politics in the state had hit a historic low during electioneering and there should be a Laxman rekha  to maintain decency in public discourse. [caption id=“attachment_2754518” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of TMC chief Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] “People of Bengal have rejected attempts by the opposition to mislead them. The people did not like the way the opposition has spread canards against me in this election. It is not good for politics and democracy,” she told reporters. She also attacked a local media group, alleging that it was unfairly targeting Trinamool and spreading baseless allegations. Referring to the charges of corruption against her party, she dubbed it as “a propaganda by a section of media. There is no corruption in Bengal. Bengal is a corruption-free state. The people have rejected the allegation,” she asserted. “This is the magic of Ma-Mati-Manush. The people are very intelligent. They have given reply to the allegations levelled by the opposition,” she continued. Asked if she harbours the hope of getting a prominent national role in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, she described herself as a less important person, saying, “I love my country and my motherland.” Banerjee said that the elected members of TMC would meet at 12.30 hours tomorrow to elect their leader. The new government will take oath of office on May 27, she said. Turning to the Congress-left alliance, the TMC supremo said that from the point of view of national politics it was a blunder for the Congress to go with the CPI-M. “It was the greatest blunder for the CPI-M to align with the Congress. They have compromised with their ideology. If you compromise with your ideology, you lose everything,” she remarked.