Inclination of Congress, CPI(M) to join hands with BJP proves CM's long-standing allegation: Partha

Kolkata: Partha Chatterjee, secretary general of the Trinamool Congress on Tuesday criticised BJP, Congress and CPI(M) for sharing the dais to support the demands of the primary teachers.

Chatterjee said the attitude of the Congress and CPI(M) leaders proved the long-standing allegation of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that there is an "unholy alliance between Congress and CPI(M) with the BJP".

"The cat is out of the bag now and we have been saying this that there is an "unholy nexus between BJP, Congress and CPI(M)."

He said in all the elections from the Assembly to the Panchayats, Congress and CPI(M) had supported the BJP clandestinely. "The Trinamool Congress is a secular party and has slammed the communal party like the BJP. The latter's divisive politics has affected society badly. It has introduced hate politics and caste-based politics for its narrow gains," he said adding: "BJP will be ousted in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls."

Chatterjee said the Opposition parties are doing politics to stall development taken up by Mamata Banerjee. "In the past 34 years, the CPI(M) had ruined the state and now as it is developing fast, the party and its allies are trying to stall the progress by "hook or by crook."

The primary teachers are organising a dharna at Esplanade demanding among other things hike in salary. CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty, Forward Bloc leader Naren Chatterjee, Congress leader Abdul Mannan and BJP state president Dilip Ghosh had attended the dharna and assured support to the agitators.

Meanwhile, there is a flutter among political experts in Bengal over a statement made by CPI(M) state president Suryakanta Misra asking party supporters to vote for the Congress where CPI(M) does not have any candidate.

Political experts said in the name of supporting "democratic secular forces," there will be a repetition of Congress-CPI(M) alliance that took place before the Assembly elections in 2016. Though the party's Politburo has not approved the alliance and declared it as "not in consonance with the Central Committee's" decision, leaders from Bengal did not give up and are trying to ink an alliance with the Congress with a hope that this is how they will be able to save the seats of two party's MPs, Mohammad Selim from Raigunj and Badrudozza Khan from Murshidabad. The political experts say if the Congress high command decides to support the Trinamool Congress, local Congress leaders will be in deep trouble. They felt that the Congress-CPI(M) alliance will not have any impact in the election and CPI(M) will be further affected. In 2016, because of the alliance, the number of MLAs in the CPI(M) was reduced to 28, the lowest since 1972.