Taking a dim view of Trinamool supremo and West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s bid to sideline the Congress and emerge as the key face of the Opposition against the BJP dispensation, the Shiv Sena on Saturday said that pushing the grand old party away from national politics and creating an Opposition grouping parallel to the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) would be akin to strengthening the BJP and “fascist” forces, reports The Indian Express.
Barely a few days after Banerjee pronounced the demise of the Congress-led UPA, the Sena, in an editorial in party mouthpiece “Saamana”, said those who do not want the UPA should make their stand clear openly and not whisper as it would spark confusion.
Rising in defence of the Congress, the Sena said if even those fighting the BJP feel that the Congress should cease to exist, then this attitude is the “biggest threat”. It asserted that if there is no unity among the Opposition parties, then the talk of creating a political alternative to the ruling BJP should end.
“It is true that Mamata finished the Congress, Left and the BJP from West Bengal. But keeping Congress out of national politics will amount to strengthening the current fascist forces. It is understandable that (PM Narendra) Modi and his BJP feel that Congress should be wiped out. This is part of their agenda. But, the most dangerous threat is that even those who are fighting against Modi and his ideologies think that Congress should be wiped out,” the “Saamana” editorial stated.
It remarked that Banerjee has asked a million-dollar question as to where is the Congress-led UPA in the country. “Not just the UPA, the NDA also does not exist. While Modi’s party does not need the NDA today, the Opposition needs the UPA. Forming a parallel alliance to the UPA will amount to strengthening the BJP.”
The Sena noted that the Congress party’s decline in the last ten years was “worrisome”. “But to not let it come back on track and to take that space of Congress is also fatal,” it said.
The Sena leads the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government in Maharashtra, which also comprises of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the Congress.
Significantly, the Sena’s remarks came a few days after Mamata Banerjee’s visit to Mumbai, during which she had met its leaders, Aditya Thackeray and Sanjay Raut.
In the course of this visit, after meeting Pawar, Banerjee had made a cryptic comment saying that ‘there is no UPA now’, seeking to run down the Congress. She had then also taken potshots at Rahul Gandhi and his frequent visits abroad.
On Friday, the Trinamool mouthpiece “Jago Bangla” launched a fresh salvo at the Congress, stating that it has gone into a “deep freezer”. It had also claimed earlier that Mamata, and not Rahul, has emerged as the face of the Opposition against Prime Minister Modi.
“After Mamata Banerjee’s Mumbai visit, the Opposition parties have swung into action. There is a consensus on creating a strong alternative to the BJP, but there is a lot of discussion happening on who is to be taken along and who is to be kept away from this alliance. But if there is no unanimity, nobody should talk about taking on the BJP. Leadership is a secondary issue, but there should at least be a decision on coming together,” the Sena editorial said.
The Sena also took on poll strategist Prashant Kishor over his recent tweet stating that the Congress’s leadership was not the “divine right” of an individual, especially when the party has “lost more than 90 per cent elections in last 10 years”.
Kishor and his I-PAC team have been working for the Trinamool months before the West Bengal Assembly polls. He had reportedly been negotiating with the Congress in recent months about a proposal for his induction into the Congress, but it did not make much headway. He is now working on strategies on expansion of the Trinamool’s national footprint.
“Prashant Kishor has made this historic remark that Congress did not have the divine right to lead the Opposition. No one had got divine rights. Earlier, the BJP was ridiculed that it was born to permanently sit on the Opposition benches, but despite the criticism the party has now scaled new heights,” the Sena said.
The Uddhav-led party also stated that Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been fighting despite facing all challenges and ridicule.
The Congress’s “bad luck” is that those who grew politically because of that party were now opposing it, it said.
It, however, also said, “Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should speak about what they plan to do with the UPA. Those who want a strong alliance of Opposition parties should take initiative to strengthen the UPA. Even though there may be differences with the Congress, the UPA can still materialize.”
The Sena made it clear that those who want the emergence of a strong Opposition front in the country should come forward to strengthen the UPA by involving the Congress.
