Questions should be asked of AAP for ruling out tie-up, says Cong
New Delhi, Feb 10: Amid claims that the AAP-Congress bickering benefited the BJP in Delhi, unity and cohesiveness were the watchwords from many INDIA bloc leaders on Monday even as the Congress said that the blame on it was misplaced since AAP had ruled out an alliance in the assembly polls.
Fending off criticism, the Congress also asserted that the INDIA bloc was formed for general elections 2024 and state-specific alliances were the way forward in the assembly polls.
Responding to those criticising the Congress for playing spoilsport for AAP in Delhi, Congress MP and whip in the Lok Sabha Manickam Tagore said alliance partners are putting the queries to the wrong person as they should direct them to the one who “broke the alliance” in Delhi, an apparent reference to AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal.
“One thing is very clear – the INDIA alliance was created for the general elections 2024. In different states, different strategy was evolved (in those polls also). Aam Aadmi Party and Congress had an alliance in Delhi but not in Punjab. We had an alliance in Gujarat but not in other places. They were supporting us in Goa,” he said.
“In assembly elections, Arvind Kejriwal ji announced on December 1 that they are fighting alone. We hope that our alliance partners will also understand that they are asking the wrong person, they should ask the question to the person who broke the alliance,” Tagore told reporters outside Parliament.
He asserted that the INDIA bloc was formed particularly for the general elections 2024. “Its main idea was to channelise the anti-Modi, anti-BJP anti-RSS forces at one level, that has been done. After that, coordination in Parliament has been happening at the floor level,” he said.
“The speech of the leader of the opposition (Rahul Gandhi) had talked about an INDIA bloc vision as an alternative vision, it was not just a vision of the Congress. So we are positive towards it (INDIA bloc), but we know how one alliance partner’s reaction can spoil it,” he said. “State elections are going to be different. State elections are going to be fought on state-level alliances. In Parliament, we are coordinating and our LoP calls it an INDIA bloc vision,” Tagore said.
In Parliament, “the SP, TMC, AAP, everybody is together in the fight against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah”. (PTI)