Veteran Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya today said that both the BJP and the Trinamool Congress apparently opposes each other, but that “mentally” the two parties believe in “separatism, breaking democratic structure” in India, even as the theme of our country is ‘Unity in Diversity.’

Speaking to reporters here today, Mr Bhattacharya said that the Trinamool Congress had proved that it was totally against unity among the opposition parties. “Abstaining itself from the Vice President elections has proved that the Trinamool Congress is totally against unity among the oppositions in fighting the BJP.

Why did not they cast their vote in favour of Margaret Alva, despite a good relationship between Mamata (Banerjee) and Margaret? TMC will have to answer that,” Mr Bhattacharya said. According to Mr Bhattacharya, the Trinamool Congress is polluting Bengal politics and the BJP is polluting the political environment across the country.

Mr Bhattacharya and the party’s general secretary, BP Singh, were here to attend the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra,’ a nationwide programme to mark the Quit India Movement. Notably, Quit India Movement, also known as the August Movement, was launched by the All India Congress Committee under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi in 1942, demanding an end to the British rule.

On this occasion, under the leadership of senior leader and Siliguri district Congress president Shankar Malakar, party workers took out a rally from the martyrs’ column near the Siliguri Police Station to the Gandhi statue near the Siliguri Post Office.

According to Mr Bhattacharya, based on the tradition of the Congress party, the party under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had adopted a resolution to observe the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ from 9 to 15 August. The party will launch another similar programme from Kanyakumari to Jammu shortly. On the other hand, BP Singh said: “Mahatma Gandhi had launched the Quit India Movement 80 years ago.

As the country is celebrating Azaadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, there is a question on what the role of the BJP was that time. Now, we have raised a slogan ‘BJP should quit power’ because the saffron party has no right to rule India, as it has failed to provide employment, to keep control over prices and failed to serve the poor people as well as farmers