 "Vice-Presidential polls: Opposition pick Margaret Alva slams Mamata Banerjee for deciding to abstain from voting")
New Delhi: Opposition’s vice-presidential pick Margaret Alva on Friday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for deciding to abstain from voting in the upcoming V-P elections.
Taking to Twitter, Alva said that TMC’s decision to abstain was disappointing and called upon Mamata to show some courage and stand with the Opposition.
“The TMC’s decision to abstain from voting in the VP election is disappointing. This isn’t the time for ‘whataboutery’, ego or anger. This is the time for courage, leadership & unity. I believe, @MamataOfficial, who is the epitome of courage, will stand with the opposition,” she wrote.
TMC on Thursday announced it would abstain from the vice presidential election, as it does not agree with the way the Opposition candidate was decided without keeping the party in the loop. NDA has nominated former West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as its candidate for the election scheduled to be held on 6 August. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had announced on 17 July that Opposition parties have decided to field former Rajasthan governor Alva as their joint candidate for the polls. “There is no question of supporting the NDA candidate, especially Jagdeep Dhankhar. In today’s meeting, TMC lawmakers unanimously decided not to take part in the vice presidential election,” Trinamool Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee said. Banerjee, the nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, alleged that the Opposition candidate was decided without proper consultation and deliberation with the party, which has 35 MPs in both the Houses. TMC MPs in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha held a meeting at Mamata Banerjee’s residence to decide on the party’s stand for the vice-presidential poll. “We disagree with the process of announcing the Opposition candidate without keeping TMC in the loop. We were neither consulted nor was anything discussed with us. So we can’t support the Opposition nominee,” he said. Reacting to TMC abstaining from voting, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday accused the West Bengal CM of trying to avoid a confrontation with the BJP and having a pact with them. Chowdhury said, “West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar is Vice Presidential candidate, he has often confronted Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He met CM Banerjee and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in Darjeeling. The next day he was announced as Vice Presidential candidate, which means there was a Darjeeling pact among them.” With inputs from agencies Read all the Latest News , Trending News , Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .