‘CPI(M) converged with TMC only to defeat BJP’

KOLKATA, Nov 3: CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday said the party had converged with the Trinamool Congress in the opposition INDIA alliance with the sole aim of defeating the BJP at the Centre.He said all non-BJP parties must come together to save the country’s ‘secular and democratic’ fabric.Pointing to letters and reactions from CPI(M) party members questioning the presence of Mamata Banerjee-led TMC in the INDIA bloc, Yechury said the party leadership has always maintained that the Trinamool Congress cannot be an alternative to BJP.“If we have to save India and its people, we have to separate the BJP from controlling government power and state power,” he said. On accusations of corruption against TMC leaders, Yechury claimed that the ruling party in West Bengal is “anti-people and anti-democratic and they destroyed the entire concept of democratic elections in the state.” Yechury said after achieving the bigger goal of defeating the BJP, other issues can come up. (PTI)