Mamata Banerjee has warned the Congress of a payback action in Delhi if they disturbed her in Bengal. Condemning the Pradesh Congress leadership for habitually opposing the Trinamool Congress in the State, the Chief Minister said, “They (Congress) are an independent party and have every right to oppose us but they should also expect similar acts from us.”
Though the Chief Minister would not refer to any particular instance, she said, “We do not require their help in Bengal. But they have been creating obstacles at every instance. If this continues then we will have to think about our future conduct in Delhi.”
She was also quoted as saying “two things cannot go side by side: you will take our help in Delhi and create problem here in Bengal. This cannot be tolerated. If you throw a brickbat then be prepared for a stone.”
Earlier Bengal Pradesh Congress president Adhir Chowdhury while speaking on a possible Opposition prime ministerial candidate had said that his workers in Bengal would definitely not work for Mamata Banerjee. “Insofar as the question of any kind of alliance is concerned I am not the right person to take a decision about that. It is for the high command to decide on which party to ally with.
“But if you talk about a prime ministerial candidate then I will say that Rahul Gandhi is our leader and we will definitely want him to be the prime minister. By the same logic we will work for Rahul Gandhi and not for Mamata Banerjee’s cause.”
Meanwhile, senior Trinamool Congress leaders once again raised the demand for a “Bengali Prime Minister” from a TMC rally at Midnapore.
Addressing the rally senior party leader and Bengal Minister Suvendu Adhikary on Saturday said the people of the State want a Prime Minister from Bengal and it would be none other than Mamata Banerjee.
He said, “Mamata Banerjee is not only loved in India but all over the world. This is why she is sure to lead a united opposition to power in Delhi.” Asking the people of the State to give all the 42 seats to the Trinamool Congress in the 2019 general elections he added: “we want no one else but Mamata Banerjee as the Prime Minister this time round.”
His party colleague and MP Subroto Bakshi and Firhad Hakim also aired the same view “there is no alternative to Mamata Banerjee in terms of ability to rule the country.”