‘Outsider’ tag back in BJP-TMC slugfest

SHILLONG, Jan 28: Barely days after NPP raked up TMC’s ‘outsider’ origin, its ally BJP echoed the same triggering a war of words between the saffron party and TMC.
The political slugfest has set the tone for a riveting contest fraught with allegations and counter-allegations in the run-up to the February elections in the state. TMC has so far stolen the limelight with its mass rallies and superlative canvassing pattern which the saffron party has failed to match.
On Saturday, both rival parties were locked in a bitter tussle over the ‘origin issue’. BJP’s attempt to poke TMC by highlighting the origin of the party met with strident opposition by the Mamata Banerjee-led party.
The saffron party’s overdo evoked refrain from Trinamool Congress, which seems to be readying to meet its shrill innuendo with a sharp report.
State BJP President Ernest Mawrie came under fire from TMC candidate, Elgiva Rynjah, who slammed him for calling Mamata Banerjee an ‘outsider.’
Rynjah countered Mawrie saying if Prime Minister Narendra Modi too can be called an outsider when he visits Meghalaya.
She also said that leaders from any political party are free to roam anywhere in the country and spread their ideologies as India is a secular country. “Calling our chairperson an outsider only shows their narrow mindset and should I also call the Prime Minister an outsider too when he visited the state? Isn’t he an Indian?” she questioned.
Continuing her tirade against the BJP, she said that all heavyweights of the saffron party from
Delhi and Gujarat had stormed West Bengal during the election but Mamata Banerjee came out victorious in the polls and single-handedly defeated the entire flock of BJP.
“If they try to slam us, let us challenge them and we will see the results on February 27,” she said while accusing the party of only making false promises.
Rynjah, who is one of the youngest candidates in the constituency, also said that she is not scared of the bigwigs of the BJP and any other party in her constituency. The TMC candidate further said she is ready to challenge heavyweights in her constituency.