PM Modi and BJP are rattled by I-N-D-I-A alliance: TMC

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) has criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement wherein he allegedly compared the name of the Opposition coalition of 26 parties (I-N-D-I-A) with that of a terrorist organisation.

Reacting to the same, TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee said that maybe the Prime Minister liked the name and accepted it.

“Thanks to our Prime Minister. I believe he likes the name of our alliance, I-N-D-I-A. In fact, I think he has even accepted our name. Not just that, even the general public has accepted the name and has been very welcoming. It is because of the media which questions the Prime Minister all the time, and because he has to say something, he has spoken about our alliance I-N-D-I-A today.”

She added: “When the Indian cricket team plays, do we call the team with any other name, apart from ‘India, India’? It is always ‘Team India’. When we talk about our motherland, we proudly say INDIA. The more the BJP talks about INDIA, the more they try to trash-talk the name of our country, we will believe that they are growing more affectionate towards the name I-N-D-I-A even more.”

TMC MP Derek O’Brien said that the comment by the PM reveals the fact that he is rattled and so is his party. “The BJP is now in reactive mode. They have no good comeback and hence are coming up with crazy explanations. It is for the first time since 2014 that the PM has no answer” he pointed out.

Further, Derek said: “PM should come to the Parliament and have a debate on the Manipur issue. Let’s have an open debate. You are on the back foot after the Patna and Bengaluru summit. I-N-D-I-A will win. People are with us.”

Another TMC MP, Mahua Moitra called the comments by PM Modi: “shameful”.

She said the PM must be reminded that the number of people who voted for Opposition parties is double the number of votes that BJP got. “Opposition has more combined vote share than BJP,’’ she remarked and added, “Your government policy is backfiring. India is fighting back”.

Party’s national spokesperson and MP, Sakhet Gokhale said: “PM’s remark clearly indicates that he is rattled by the opposition coalition (I.N.D.I.A). All of India is on the same platform to fight the anti-people policies of the BJP.”

He further said that PM Modi though is an expert at naming things, does not realise the value of a name or a word he utters. Citing an example, he said: “PM though named Rajpath as Kartavya Path, he failed to fulfill his ‘kartavya’ (commitment) towards the people of Manipur. He has no guts to debate the issue in Parliament. He had to be even reminded of his Rajdharma (duty towards state) in 2002 by the former BJP PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee.”

Saket said that the NDA is a rag-tag coalition of 38 parties but I.N.D.I.A (Opp. coalition) has the word “inclusive” in it. It is an inclusive alliance. Other TMC MPs Dola Sen and Kalyan Banerjee too criticized the PM’s comment.

The party wrote on its Twitter handle: “When will PM@narendramodi stop diverting the issue of Manipur? The opposition is also a part of this nation and relating a political alliance with terrorist groups deserves strong condemnation. We will not stop our fight until he discusses the crisis in the Parliament! #INDIAforMANIPUR.”