After Congress' alliance partner Indian Secular Front expressed its disappointment on the absence of Congress leaders completely from the political campaigns in West Bengal, the Congress high command sent AICC spokesman Jaiveer Shergill to address the concern of ISF leader Aabas Siddiquie and silence the detractors questioning the alliance.
Shergill took potshots at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee saying that Didi was spotted with a football at one of the rallies, the fate of Bengal is like a football which the
TMC and BJP have been passing to each other.
He said the TMC and BJP are two sides of the same coin as both are using religious sentiments to polarise Bengal elections instead of being answerable on core governance issues. "BJP is equivalent to East India Company which is busy raising the ‘GDP-Gas Diesel Petrol’ price of India," Shergill said.
"Mamata Banerjee deflated the ‘Vikas’ of Bengal and instead of focusing on governance, the TMC government did “khela” with the economy, employment, education sector, and law & order of Bengal," Shergill said at a Press conference holding a deflated football. Referring to TMC’s “Bangla Nijer Meyekei Chay” slogan, Shergill shared to media a series of NCRB data to suggest how the safety of women and children deteriorated under Mamata Banerjee.
As per the NCRB report submitted to the Supreme Court, West Bengal ranked at second position for cases of missing women and children.
When asked about the Sanjukt Morcha partners being dissatisfied with campaigns of Congress in Bengal, Shergill assured that the representatives of the grand old party are working on the ground to ensure that the alliance fares well in the elections.
On the absence of Gandhis from the campaigns, he said the Bengal Congress unit has been chalking out a plan for the star campaigners to hit the ground but the top brass of the Congress believes in handing the baton to the state unit for assembly elections rather than hijacking the polls from them.