Kolkata: In an apparent rebuke to party
leaders on the alliance with Trinamool Congress, West Bengal
Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee today said it was first
necessary for the party to strengthen its base in the state to
command honour and respect.
"Honour and respect comes when one has the strength to
command it. One will give respect when he finds it will land
him in trouble if he ignores me. Therefore, the party has to
strengthen itself to command respect and honour in the state,"
Mukherjee told a convention of the Congress` women wing here.
Mukherjee, however, made it clear that the Congress
should be treated with respect by the Trinamool Congress as
"relations among different parties are built on the basis of
honour and respect."
The comment comes at a time when Trinamool Congress has
been accused by a section of the senior state Congress leaders
of ignoring claims and staking claim to all prized seats in
the last Lok Sabha election and subsequent by-elections.
Congress MP Deepa Dasmunshi, wife of former union
minister P R Dasmunshi, and Nadia District Congress President
Shankar Singh have been vocal about the Trinamool Congress
denying the party its due share.
PTI
