Mainpuri (Uttar Pradesh), Dec 7: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s statement expressing her desire to lead the INDIA bloc has sparked a political debate, drawing numerous reactions.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader Ram Gopal Yadav, sharing his views on the matter, said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi is the not the leader of the INDIA bloc, adding that the grand old party’s below-par performance in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections might have made the Trinamool Congress supremo submit her remarks.
“In Himachal Pradesh, where the Congress is in power, they lost all four seats. Similarly, in Karnataka and Telangana, both Congress-ruled states, they lost half of their Lok Sabha seats. Furthermore, Congress failed to win even a single seat in Madhya Pradesh. It suffered major losses in Chhattisgarh. Had Congress performed better in the Lok Sabha elections, Narendra Modi would not have become the Prime Minister today.
“This is the reason the leadership change is being discussed. However, I choose not to engage in this debate. The INDIA alliance must remain intact, as without this alliance, these tikadami (trickster) individuals cannot be defeated,” Yadav told reporters.
At a press conference in his hometown of Mainpuri, he said: “Doubts about the results in Maharashtra began to grow when people said that their votes were cast for Congress, but Congress’ votes didn’t show up. This situation points to irregularities. Even Donald Trump had mentioned that Russia interfered with the US presidential election through technology, so in today’s technological world, it’s not a big deal. We use disappearing messages on our phones, which vanish in minutes.
Such changes can easily be made using technology.” The Samajwadi Party leader believes that “elections must be contested, whether they are by-polls or general elections. They are ready and will fully exercise their democratic rights”.
Regarding the Sambhal violence, he said: “The BJP is searching temples across the country. The BJP’s intention is to create unrest in the country so that they can stay in power. They don’t care about the country.”
IANS