Adhir in pickle as Congress high command takes stern view of defacement of Kharge poster

Kolkata: West Bengal Congress chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury seems to be on a sticky wicket after being snubbed by party president Mallikarjun Kharge at an INDIA bloc meet last week in Mumbai during a news briefing.

Kharge made it clear that Adhir Ranjan’s archrival and Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo Mamata Banerjee is with the INDIA bloc in spite of her flip-flop about her stand with the Congress-led INDIA bloc.

“Mamata Banerjee is with the alliance, she said she would join the government. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will not make the decisions. The decisions will be made by me and the high command, and those who don’t agree will go out,” Kharge had said.

This was interpreted in the political circles as a warning from the Congress high command to Choudhury who the previous day compared Mamata with JD(U)’s Nitish Kumar Banerjee and “cannot be trusted”.

Kharge’s remark triggered an unprecedented scene at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress (WBPCC) office in Kolkata the very next day.

On Sunday, three posters on the wall of the Congress headquarters which had Kharge’s image next to Sonia Gandhi’s were smeared with black ink and ‘TMC dalal’ written on it. Later, the Congress workers cleansed them with milk, but the party was left red-faced amid the high prestige Lok Sabha battle.

Congress general secretary G.A.Mir, the in-charge of Bengal, told ThePrint that the episode was serious as it took place at the party office. “We have launched an investigation considering the seriousness, an incident like this is unprecedented and unfortunate. We will issue a statement in the next 2-3 days upon receiving the probe report from the West Bengal Pradesh Congress,” the senior leader said Tuesday.

A day before, Congress general secretary (organisation) K.C.Venugopal released a statement, saying that acts of vandalising hoardings would not be tolerated. “We are taking a very serious note of such grave anti-party activities. The Indian National Congress shall not tolerate such public display of defiance and indiscipline,” the statement said, adding that the WBPCC general secretary was asked to submit a report immediately.

Mir, meanwhile, asserted that state leaders should not interfere in the national politics, and instead concentrate on the state business especially when it comes to Mamata’s role within the INDIA bloc. “National politics should be left for the president and the high command in New Delhi because they will take the necessary decision ultimately,” he said.

When asked if he had spoken to Chowdhury over the incident at the party’s head office, Mir told ThePrint that he “tried” but the PCC chief was very busy and had not spoken yet.

“In many states, the Congress is not in an alliance with the regional parties in this Lok Sabha election. But at the national level, we are united. That is the agenda that had been decided. We are positive about the outcome we will get in Bengal and do better than before. This vote is a vote for change,” Mir said.

While the Congress, the TMC and the CPI(M )are part of the INDIA bloc, Mamata has decided to fight solo in all 42 Lok Sabha seats. In response, the Left Front and the Congress have fielded candidates 30 and 12 seats, respectively.

Mir refused to comment on a query on whether Chowdhury’s comments, which have already created an evident rift between the two parties in Bengal, would impact the INDIA bloc in Delhi.

ThePrint reached out to WBPCC general secretary Manoj Chakraborty who declined to speak and said that he was undergoing treatment at a Kolkata hospital.

TMC minister Bratya Basu welcomed Kharge’s statement against Chowdhury. “Mallikarjun Kharge is a veteran leader. He knows the value which Mamata Banerjee brings to the alliance. He also knows in West Bengal, if anyone can defeat the BJP, it is only Mamata Banerjee. But I do not want to comment about their internal bickering,” he told ThePrint.

In Murshidabad, Chowdhury downplayed any talk of rift within the party, saying the defacing could be “a BJP or TMC conspiracy.”

“We all respect Kharge ji, it is our duty to keep his dignity intact. We can’t tolerate any disrespect to him, we have filed an FIR into the matter. It could be the doing of the ruling government here or any other opposition party to purposely create a tussle within the Congress. Congress workers cannot act in this manner. We cannot defame him,” he said Monday.

Kharge, too, came out with a balancing statement the same day after his terse word to the five-time Lok Sabha MP from Bahrampur. ‘Vo hamarey ladaku sipahi hain (He is our combative soldier)’,” he said about Chowdhury.

BJP MP Dilip Ghosh, meanwhile, sought to fish in troubled waters as he suggested Kharge should evaluate the ties with Mamata. “Adhir Chowdhury is the only leader that has kept Congress alive in West Bengal. Kharge ji should re-think what he is saying. Does he want to clear the way for Mamata Banerjee to wipe out the Congress party in the state?” Ghosh told ThePrint.

(Edited by Tony Rai)


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