Alliance with CPI(M) is Cong’s biggest blunder: Bhunia

The biggest blunder of Congress is to have alliance with CPI(M), party’s MLA and the chairman of Public Accounts Committee Manas Bhunia said on Friday. “Congress can make alliance with Trinamool but never with the Communists as the two parties follow diametrically opposite ideologies,” Bhunia said. He said that he had tried to convince leaders in Delhi not to make alliance with CPI(M) as that would affect the party adversely. “But the leaders did not listen to me and went ahead with the alliance and paid a price for it,” he said. It may be recalled that after the proposal to form the alliance was mooted, Bhunia along with Dipa Das Munshi and DP Roy had opposed it. While Roy who was an MLA from Alipurduar refused to contest in the election and Das Munshi who initially refused to contest the poll, finally agreed to contest from Bhowanipore against Mamata Banerjee after party chairperson Sonia Gandhi requested her.

The alliance suffered badly in the election and managed to get only 76 seats. Bhunia said that the Congress should support the judgment of the Supreme Court that had stated the acquisition of land to set up car factory for the Tatas in Singur as illegal. “But because of the alliance with CPI(M), Congress leaders could not support the Mamata Banerjee government,” he maintained. He said the party should acknowledge the role of Mamata Banerjee in organising the movement in Singur.

It may be recalled that both the Politburo and Central Committee of CPI(M) had described the alliance as “not in consonance with party’s Central Committee’s decision” and asked the leaders from West Bengal to ratify it. But the leaders from Bengal refused to accept this and continued to launch joint movements with Congress.