Mathura, 11 May

(HS): Pramod Tiwari, a senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP, claimed on

Monday that Mamata Banerjee would not be in her current condition if she had

run in the West Bengal assembly elections in coalition with the Congress. The

BJP won 207 of the 294 seats in West Bengal's recently ended assembly

elections, essentially ending Bannerjee's 15-year hegemony and relegating the

TMC to opposition status. Tiwari claimed that if Mamata Banerjee had run in the

assembly elections alongside the Congress, she would not have faced the current

crisis. He was speaking with the media after arriving in Vrindavan to worship

at the Thakur Banke Bihari shrine. Tiwari was joined by Aradhana Mishra, the

Congress Legislature Party leader in the Uttar Pradesh legislature.

Speaking to media, the Congress leader slammed the

BJP and the Election Commission. Referring to the recently held assembly

elections in West Bengal and Assam, he said that democracy is being

assassinated in the country and that constitutional institutions are being

abused. He stated that the Central government and its agencies' interference in

election procedures is damaging to the Constitution. Tiwari attacked the BJP,

saying the party lacked its own leaders to install as chief ministers.

Instead, they elevate defectors from other parties to the post, he

stated. As a result, Tiwari stated that schisms between the BJP and the RSS are

unavoidable, and the BJP would eventually pay the consequences in the future

elections.

Tiwari commented on the elections in Kerala and

Tamil Nadu, saying, We won in Kerala and supported the party that upholds

secularism in Tamil Nadu. The Tamil Nadu governor was reluctant to invite

the winning party to form the government. Despite their defeat, the BJP had

hoped to establish the state's administration. C Joseph Vijay, on the other

hand, was able to gain a majority with the assistance of other parties and

eventually take power.

The Congress leader also supported former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata

Banerjee's demand for opposition unity. He

stated that the Congress is the only party capable of confronting the BJP. He

asserted that only the Congress can beat the BJP; regional parties cannot.

Hindusthan Samachar / Abhishek Awasthi