Zeenews Bureau
Kolkata: While the honeymoon period between the Congress and Trinamool Congress got over long time back, it now appears that both are heading for a divorce.
The rift between the two has hit a new low on Wednesday with West Bengal Congress leadership accusing its alliance partner Trinamool as the 'B-team' of BJP.
"We are being constantly blamed as the B-team of the CPI (M). But it is Trinamool which has been on the same boat with BJP on the issue of FDI in retail. They along with BJP and the Left had opposed the FDI in retail. In the case of Lokpal bill also, Trinamool MPs in Rajya Sabha took the same tone as that of the CPI(M)," said Deepa Dasmunsi, Congress MP.
Dasmunsi was responding to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s accusation that the Congress was colluding with the Communists to hurt the Trinamool.
Echoing Dasmunsi, Manas Bhuniya another senior Congress leader in the state said: "Why is Trinamool always criticizing us by saying that we are the B-team of CPI (M) if we don't agree with them on certain issues?"
Both Dasmunsi and Bhuniya were speaking at a rally organised to protest against the "inaction" on the part of the state government for its failure to give the right price for their agricultural produce. Interestingly, Bhuniya is serving as irrigation minister in Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet.
The Congress-Trinamool ties have remained uneasy since Trinamool Congress took the Congress by surprise by opposing the Lokpal Bill, asserting that the bill seeks to “encroach upon the authority of states”.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s proposal to rename Indira Bhavan as Nazrul Bhavan has also irked the Congress.
Earlier sharp differences between Congress and Trinamool had emerged on the issue of FDI too.
However, in the national capital, the Congress leadership sought to downplay the differences.
"There is no dispute with Trinamool Congress. We have a very good relationship with Trinamool Congress. But yes, there can be two different thoughts on the same topic. But to name those two thoughts as dispute, is not correct," party spokesperson Manish Tewari reportedly said.
"The Chief Minister of West Bengal is saying the Congress and the Left are working in tandem. Congress is an ally of the Trinamool," he added.
First Published: Wednesday, January 04, 2012, 12:44