Ramesh rules out alliance with Trinamool in Bengal

Citing an example of how the secret pact works,Ramesh said,“One party had got the BJP candidate withdrawn from the parliamentary by-poll in Howrah to win the election. The BJP had withdrawn the candidate at the last moment for which it could not give any plausible explanation.”

He described the electoral battle in 2014 “as one not between the Congress and BJP,but certainly one between the Congress and the RSS.”

“A party which directly takes orders from the RSS is a communal force and those who maintain secret understanding with parties such as the BJP or the RSS are also communal,” the Union minister said while addressing the media at the West Bengal Pradesh Congress headquarters in Kolkata.

In the June byelection for Howrah seat,TMC candidate and former international footballer Prasun Banerjee defeated CPM candidate Sridip Bhattacharya. The BJP opted out of the race after naming former state president Asim Ghosh as party candidate for the seat.

Terming the TMC a “regional party”,Ramesh said that Congress would contest against the BJP in seven to eight states while in two to three states,it will be pitted against the Left parties. “In other states,the fight is between the Congress and the regional parties. TMC is a regional party and it will remain so,” he added.

He further blamed BJP for the communal riots in Uttar Pradesh. “The BJP and (the ruling) Samajwadi Party formed an unholy alliance in the UP. BJP benefits from the communal riots.”

Asked about TMC joining hands with the BJP,Ramesh said,“Why should Congress stop TMC if its taking part in its own funeral. This is clear to us that one set of forces are fighting the election with communal agenda.”