TN Cong leaders condemn Mamata’s ‘irresponsible’ collusion charge, defend DMK

Rattled by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s allegation that the DMK and the Congress have colluded with the Election Commission of India, Congress leaders in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday condemned her statement as ‘irresponsible’ and sprung to the defence of the DMK, making it clear that no other Chief Minister has been so consistent and persistent in opposing the saffron brigade like MK Stalin.

Coming ahead of the assembly elections, Mamata’s charge has exposed a widening rift within the INDIA bloc. Though all three parties – Congress, DMK and the TMC — are part of the INDIA bloc at the national level, and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Stalin enjoys a good rapport with Mamata, it appears that all is not well within the alliance.

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From TNCC president K Selvaperunthagai to Congress Chief Whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore and Jothimani, MP, the party has slammed the West Bengal Chief Minister for levelling a charge that is far from the truth.

“There is not even an iota of truth in Mamata’s charge. Being a three-time Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee has made the allegation, which is highly condemnable,” Selvaperunthagai said in a statement, adding that Rahul Gandhi is the only leader at the national level taking on the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi day in and day out. “It is Godse’s followers who are in power. The Congress has never made a compromise with the RSS, Jan Sangh and the BJP. Rahul and the Congress, holding the Nehruvian legacy aloft, have never hesitated to take the RSS head on,” he added.

Coming to the defence of the DMK, he said, “Chief Minister Stalin has been waging an ideological war to prevent the BJP from gaining a foothold in Tamil Nadu. Owing to this steadfast opposition to the BJP and the Prime Minister, DMK leaders have faced raids by the ED and the Income-Tax Department, which he described as handmaidens of the BJP. It is Stalin who is at the forefront of stopping the BJP juggernaut in the state,” he said, adding that Mamata has only exposed her political immaturity.

Congress leader Manickam Tagore, expressing surprise at Mamata Banerjee losing her balance and making wild claims without any evidence, said, “At a time when the opposition must stand united against the BJP, such statements would only result in weakening the collective fight. Casting aspersions on allies is not leadership, but distraction.” He also reminded the TMC chief that she had previously been in alliance with the BJP.

Advising the West Bengal Chief Minister to seek votes on her government’s performance in the last 15 years, Jothimani, the MP from Karur, asked her to desist from slandering the allies. She also pointed out that, unlike the DMK, which stands shoulder to shoulder in Parliament in opposing the BJP, the TMC is choosy.