Kolkata: The non-Bharatiya Janata Parties that speak about opposition unity without the Congress as the fulcrum are possibly living in a “fool’s paradise,” said Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Sunday. He, however, did not name any outfit. He told reporters in Kolkata that many regional parties had back-stabbed the Congress in the past to serve their self-interests and appealed to them to stop using the Congress as a punching bag.
About the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra, he said it bolstered the party, and opposition unity would be the end product of the Yatra.
He said, “In an alliance, you give something and receive something in return. It is an understanding. So far, the Congress has been offering and everyone has benefited from it. And after getting benefits, they have been trying to use Congress as a punching bag.”
He was in Kolkata to attend an event organised by the Congress. Although he dubbed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as the “B-team” of the BJP and kept away from anything about the role of Trinamool Congress, his cryptic remark about the TMC was that it too behaves like the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and opposes the Congress. He said, “TMC has Congress in its name.”
