Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is perfectly okay with people like Himanta Biswa Sarma and Milind Deora leaving the grand old party as their politics is very different.
“I want people like Himanta and Milind to leave. I am perfectly okay with it. Himanta represents a particular type of politics that is not Congress’ politics. Have you seen some of the statements Himanta makes about Muslims? There are certain values that I would like to defend,” Rahul Gandhi said.
The Congress leader was interacting with ‘digital media warriors’ in West Bengal during his Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra, the video of which was uploaded to his account on Friday.
Tensions escalated between Rahul Gandhi and Himanta Biswa Sarma during Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Assam. Himanta accused Rahul of instigating unrest on January 22, and following this, Rahul Gandhi labeled Assam CM as the ‘most corrupt CM’ in India.
In the same conversation, Rahul Gandhi mentioned Milind Deora, a former Congress leader from Maharashtra, who left the party to join the Shiv Sena faction led by Eknath Shinde after disagreements over seat-sharing in Maharashtra. The disagreement involved the Congress, Uddhav’s Shiv Sena, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP, set to contest elections together. Milind Deora’s desired Mumbai South seat went to Uddhav Sena due to a sitting MP.
The statement holds significance as it comes at a time when the Maharashtra Congress may get another setback with the speculated exit of Baba Siddique.
Congress-TMC seat-sharing talks
Gandhi said his party was discussing the seat-sharing arrangements for the Lok Sabha polls with the ruling TMC in West Bengal, and the issue would be “resolved”.
Gandhi made the comment while interacting with the party’s ‘digital media warriors’ in West Bengal on Thursday night.
Asked why the Congress was giving importance to TMC chairperson Mamata Banerjee despite her unwillingness to leave a single Lok Sabha seat for the Congress in the state, Gandhi said, “Neither Mamata-ji has said, nor the Congress has come out of the alliance (sic).”
“Even Mamata-ji is saying that she is in the alliance. Seat negotiations are on from both ends. It will be resolved,” he said during the interaction, a video of which was shared on X.
On Thursday, Banerjee said that she was keen on a seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress but it joined hands with the CPI(M) to assist the BJP in the elections, forcing her to go it alone in the Lok Sabha polls.
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Published: 02 Feb 2024, 06:02 PM IST