Kolkata: As the opposition parties convene in Bengaluru to strategize their plan to overthrow the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, BJP MP Ravi Shankar Prasad criticised the meeting as a gathering of "opportunists."
Prasad remarked, "If the wedding procession is ready, where is the groom? This meeting is essentially a training camp where Mamataji will teach how to dismantle democracy, initiate modern coal scams, and engage in corruption in the education sector. Lalu Prasad Yadav will instruct on the art of fodder scams."
The BJP MP, who recently visited West Bengal to assess the violence related to rural polls, also questioned why the top leaders of Congress and CPI (M) remained silent on the violence in Bengal.
'Oppn meeting attempt to divert attention from good governance'
"Besides BJP workers, Congress and Left Front workers are also being killed, so why are the top bosses of Congress and CPI (M) silent about it? I have personally witnessed the situation in Bengal. God forbid, if there is a need for another Balakot strike, will the opposition gather for a meeting to seek everyone's advice? The meeting in Bengaluru is an attempt to divert attention from good governance. There won't even be a vacancy for the Prime Minister's post in 2024," added Prasad.
Congregation of corrupt: Adhikari on Oppn meeting
Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, urged the grassroots workers of Congress and CPI (M) to join forces with the BJP in fighting against the TMC.
"The meeting in Bengaluru is a congregation of corrupt people who only seek to protect themselves from the CBI and ED. They want to preserve dynasty politics. I don't believe that the grassroots workers of Congress here accept the party's call to not vote for the BJP, as most of them have been affected by the TMC. If after the meetings in Patna and Bengaluru, Congress holds up posters of Sonia Gandhi, and if CPI (M) speaks the words of Sitaram Yechury, then the people of Bengal will understand that it's a friendship in Delhi and wrestling in Bengal," stated Adhikari.
BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh referred to the meeting as a "party" in Patna and a "banquet" in Bengaluru.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader and Minister Firhad Hakim emphasised the importance of setting aside ego and called for the participation of all in the meeting. He also acknowledged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was the first to unite the opposition parties.
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