I don't enter in verbal exchanges: Chidambaram on TMC’s claim he refused alliance for Goa polls

TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had said that if the Congress fails to wrest power from the BJP in Goa, P Chidambaram should take the onus and resign.

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New Delhi: Senior Congress MP P Chidambaram on Saturday (January 22) refused to comment on TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's remark that the grand old party leader should resign if BJP returns to power in Goa. 

Speaking to ANI, the former Congress minister said, “I don't enter in verbal exchanges with general secretaries of other parties. I'm a very modest Congress worker.” 

I don't enter in verbal exchanges with general secretaries of other parties. I'm a very modest Congress worker: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram when asked about TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's remark 'Congress misleading people, Chidambaram should take blame if BJP wins Goa' pic.twitter.com/IZwN7hr5dF

— ANI (@ANI) January 22, 2022

Earlier on Thursday, TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee had said that if the Congress fails to wrest power from the BJP in Goa, the Congress' state in-charge P Chidambaram should take the onus and resign. He said the TMC had reached out to Chidambaram with a formal offer for pre-poll alliance, but nothing happened. 

A day after Banerjee’s comments, AITC National Vice-President Pavan Varma alleged that Chidambaram had lied about not being given a concrete proposal for an alliance in Goa. 

"I had gone to meet Chidambaram at his house in Delhi on December 24 at 1:30 pm," said Varma. "I went with the proposal that given the situation in Goa, and with the focus on removing the divisive BJP from the state, we must unite. I sat with him for one hour with a concrete plan, but he failed to respond. Both Chidambaram and Rahul Gandhi failed to rise above their narrow politics and vision even for the sake of Goans," he added. 

Hitting out at TMC on Friday, Congress called it "an untrustworthy ally", which is trying to grow at its expense.

Congress is already in a pre-poll alliance with GFP in Goa. Goa is witnessing a multi-cornered battle with the entry of TMC and aggressive campaigning by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

(With agency inputs)