Rahul: Won’t bow for Trinamul ties

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In an apparent message to Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday said that his party was ready to join hands with the Trinamul Congress for an alliance but it would not bow down its head. “We have a partnership with the Trinamul Congress but it cannot be without self respect. Ham unka haath pakdenge lekin sar nahin jhukaenge,” he added. Mr Gandhi was addressing Youth Congress workers in Jalpaiguri.

On the second day of this three-day visit to West Bengal, Mr Gandhi toured North Bengal and his first port of call was Jalpaiguri. Thousands of common people including many and women waited for nearly three hours both near the helipad and outside the venue of the meeting to catch a glimpse of Mr Gandhi. Like South Bengal, Mr Gandhi received tumultuous reception even in North Bengal.
After Jalpaiguri, he flew down to Coochbehar and then to Balurghat and every where he reiterated the same stand. In fact in all his meetings with party workers since his first visit to the state on September 6, Mr Gandhi has been emphasising the need for an honourable alliance with the Trinamul Congress. A large section of Congress workers in the state were extremely unhappy with the way the Trinamul Congress had dictated terms during seat sharing negotiations with the Congress before the Lok Sabha polls. “We must not surrender to the Trinamul Congress,” was the refrain Mr Gandhi heard. And everywhere, he tried to assure his partymen that the Congress would not forge an alliance at the cost of its dignity. From Mr Gandhi’s persistent emphasis on alliance with dignity, it has become clear that Ms Banerjee would not be able to bulldoze her way during the negotiation for seat adjustment for the crucial Assembly elections. Mr Gandhi was determined to revive the beleaguered Congress. And he has realised that it was the Trinamul Congress which was mainly responsible for the party’s virtual decimation.
He told his party workers that they should not be disheartened by the defection of Congress men to Mamata’s camp.
“You strengthen the Congress and make it stand on its own feet. I assure you that in four months’ time, the situation will change. We will change the politics of West Bengal,” he told party workers in Coochbehar.