Mallikarjun Kharge: CPM supported UPA govt from outside in '04
Times of India | 19 May 2024
KOLKATA: Bengal Congress chief Adhir Chowdhury would have to toe the party high command's decision on INDIA bloc or leave, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said on Saturday, in an attempt to reign in the belligerent Bengal unit chief who is vehemently opposed to Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress.
Kharge's comments followed a question by reporters in Mumbai after he insisted "Mamataji" was very much a part of INDIA coalition.When pointed out that Chowdhury was not aligned with the Congress leadership vis-a-vis Trinamool Congress, Kharge said, "He (Chowdhury) is not the one to decide (on the alliance). We are there to decide, the Congress will decide, there is a high command. So, whatever we decide will be right. Whatever we decide has to be followed, and if someone does not follow, he has to leave."
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Kharge: CPM supported UPA govt from outside in '04
Asked on the Bengal CM's "outside support to INDIA" statement (which she later clarified) Kharge said, "Mamataji first said she will support from outside. There are similar precedents in the past. In 2004, the UPA govt was also supported from outside by the communists. But Mamataji said thereafter that she will be part of the INDIA govt. So, it is clear that she is with the coalition."
CM Mamata Banerjee, too, reiterated on Saturday that TMC was part of the INDIA bloc in Delhi but not in Bengal. "Nationally we are with the INDIA bloc. I had named it and we are very much part of the bloc. But over here in Bengal, we are fighting alone. Don't vote for Congress and CPM as it would only help BJP. INDIA bloc will win this election and when we are in office, we will remove CAA, NRC and UCC and ensure that every one gets their dues under the 100-day work scheme, homes under Awas Yojana and all other projects for which Centre has held back funds till now," she said in rallies in Arambag and Bishnupur.