Cong, CPI(M) always want to project Mamata in bad light: Abhishek Banerjee

Kolkata: TMC national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee alleged that opposition Congress and CPI(M) are only interested in projecting West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in a bad light.

Addressing a public meeting at Raninagar in Murshidabad district late on Saturday evening, he said the two parties "do not utter a single word" against the BJP and its "discrimination" against the people of West Bengal.

"No Congress leader, including Adhir Choudhury, wrote a single letter flagging the non-payment of 100 days' work wages to the people of West Bengal for months. From the soil of Murshidabad, I hereby ask Baharampur MP Choudhury if he had ever taken up the issue with the Centre? Has any CPI(M) leader, too, spoken about this?" Abhishek Banerjee said.

He is on a mass-outreach drive in the state since April 25.

"The BJP government at the Centre held back Rs 7,000-crore financial dues to the state for the 100 days' work project, depriving 11.33 lakh poor people of their rightful sum," he said.

"But, the CPI(M) and Congress will never criticise the Union government for this. They only want to show our CM and her party in a bad light. It is only the TMC that talks about people's problems. We will organise a massive protest in Delhi to force the Centre to release the funds," Banerjee said.

The Diamond Harbour MP claimed that the Narendra Modi-led government could not "deprive" people of West Bengal of their dues from 2014-19 when the TMC had 34 MPs in the Lok Sabha.

However, after 2019, the number of TMC MPs went down and the 19 BJP MPs elected from the state did nothing to flag the issues of the poor despite being their representatives, he alleged.

On the recent incident in Purba Medinipur district in which a car, allegedly part of the convoy of Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari, was involved in a hit-and-run case, Banerjee said, "A BJP leader's car mowed down a youth. But, no statement came from the party."

Reacting to his comments, WBPCC president Adhir Choudhury said, "How many times in the Parliament have TMC leaders, including Abhishek, joined the opposition camp in our battle against the undemocratic central government? For the interest of West Bengal, the Congress has always raised its voice in the national capital."

Meanwhile, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said finding itself cornered on multiple fronts in recent times, the TMC is trying to deflect the attention of people by highlighting an "unfortunate road mishap" for which the saffron party is not responsible.