A heated political debate unfolded in West Bengal on Monday as Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the state's Congress President, leveled accusations against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, branding her a "traitor" to the opposition INDIA bloc.
Chowdhury questioned the rationale behind Banerjee's decision to break away from the INDIA bloc, citing examples of other opposition leaders like Arvind Kejriwal and Hemant Soren who remained loyal to their alliances. He implied that Banerjee's alleged surrender to the BJP was driven by fear of the investigative agencies, insinuating that she aimed to shield her associates from the CBI and the ED.
Furthermore, Chowdhury challenged Banerjee's assertion of being the brain behind the INDIA bloc, questioning why she chose to depart from the alliance after initially accepting Rahul Gandhi as its leader. He raised concerns over Banerjee's unilateral announcement of Trinamool candidates for all 42 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state.
In response to Chowdhury's allegations, Kunal Ghosh, Trinamool's state General Secretary, dismissed them as falsehoods, emphasizing Banerjee's continued support from Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi. Ghosh reiterated that the term INDIA bloc originated from Banerjee's vision but asserted that Trinamool opted for solo campaigning in West Bengal due to alleged duplicity within the state's Congress unit, which he claimed was collaborating with both the BJP and the CPI(M).
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