‘UPA will be a body without…’: Kapil Sibal replies to Mamata's ‘what is UPA’
In what is being seen as a veiled dig at Rahul Gandhi, Mamata said continuous endeavours are needed in politics. "You can't be abroad most of the time," Mamata said.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Thursday said without the Congress, the UPA will be a body without a soul, a day after West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said there was no United Progressive Alliance left in the country. It is time to show opposition unity, Kapil Sibal tweeted on Thursday morning, without referring to Mamata's comment.
Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal on Thursday said without the Congress, the UPA will be a body without a soul, a day after West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said there was no United Progressive Alliance left in the country. It is time to show opposition unity, Kapil Sibal tweeted on Thursday morning, without referring to Mamata's comment.
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"A firm alternative course should be made as nobody's fighting against ongoing fascism. Sharad Ji is the senior-most leader and I came to discuss our political parties. I agree with whatever Sharad Ji said. There is no UPA," Banerjee said after meeting Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar in Mumbai. Mamata Banerjee, who is believed to have been harbouring a national aspiration, also met members of civil society in Mumbai, where she raised issues like the victimisation of celebrities by the NDA. “I know Mahesh Bhatt is victimised, Shah Rukh is victimised. There are many more... Some can open their mouths and some can't,” Mamata said.
In what is being seen as a veiled dig at Rahul Gandhi, Mamata said continuous endeavours are needed in politics. "You can't be abroad most of the time," she said.
The comment at a time when several disgruntled Congress leaders are switching to the Trinamool stirred a row. Congress leaders reacted sharply to Mamata's assertion, as KC Venugopal said it is merely a dream to think that anybody can defeat the BJP without Congress.
"No individual party can fight against BJP by directly or indirectly criticising Rahul Gandhi if that party continues to think about its political gain and personal ambitions. The Congress is the only viable option for the country and the democracy," Maharashtra minister and Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat said. “Rahul Gandhi and his entire family were subjected to personal attacks by BJP and other parties. Defamatory campaigns were carried out against him, but Rahul Gandhi did not back down,” Thorat said.
“India has seen and supported the aggressive stand the Congress had taken for the withdrawal of the anti-people law of land acquisition and three black farm laws. In future also, this fight for the rights of the common people will continue under the able and strong leadership of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and our leader Rahul Gandhi,” Maharashtra Congress leader Ashok Chavan said.
Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday said the opposition should not get divided and fight amongst themselves. "We've tried to include them in various socio-political issues where Congress made its name," Kharge said.
As Mamata interacted with the members of civil society, she said she had suggested to the Congress that an advisory council of prominent personalities from civil society be set up to give a direction to the opposition, but it was not heeded.
Defending Mamata's ‘What is UPA’ comment, Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien said Trinamool is a political party and not a football club. "We have to fight elections. We have a right to expand," Derek said.
