Kolkata, Sep 18: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday asserted that non-BJP parties that believe opposition unity without the grand old party as the fulcrum is possible are living in a “fool’s paradise”.
Without naming any outfit, he said many regional parties have back-stabbed the grand old party in the past to serve their own self-interests, and that such parties should stop using the Congress as a punching bag.
“There cannot be any opposition unity without the Congress as its fulcrum. That is fundamental.
“If any non-BJP outfit thinks any alliance sans the Congress can provide a stable government for five years, it is living in a fool’s paradise. There can never be any opposition unity minus the Congress,” Ramesh said in an interview with PTI in Kolkata, where he had come to attend a party programme.
Although he dubbed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the “B-team” of the BJP, Ramesh stopped short of analysing the role of the Trinamool Congress, which too, like the Arvind Kejriwal-led party, is opposed to the Congress, by saying, “It (TMC) has Congress in its name.” “We have said this before…there is ample evidence to prove that AAP is the B-team of the BJP. If you look at its history or the background of its leaders, you will know it. Regarding the TMC, I am yet to make my assessment, but I think they, too, have Congress in their name,” he said.
Without naming anyone, the senior party leader said those who talk of opposition unity without the Congress only want to weaken the opposition front and the grand-old party.
“In an alliance, you give something and receive something in return. It is an understanding. So far, the Congress has been offering, and everyone has benefited from it. And after getting benefits, they have been trying to use the Congress as a punching bag to weaken it. This has to stop now,” he said.
Terming the Congress the “big elephant of Indian politics”, Ramesh said no one should make the mistake of “writing it off”.
Speaking on the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said a strengthened Congress and a more durable and constructive opposition would be the end product of the march.
“We have started the Yatra over national issues. The country is going through a situation where our politics, economy, and institutions are falling apart due to the BJP and its divisive politics. Another motive of the Yatra is to galvanise the rank and file of the Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls,” the former union environment minister said.
Ramesh said the Yatra was not aimed at state elections in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls.
When told that the Congress is speaking of “Bharat Jodo” when the party itself is in disarray, the senior Congress leader said the outfit is trying to fix its internal issues. (PTI)
