Targetting Trinamool, BJP's Devendra Fadnavis said ""leaders of Goa were not for sale" (File)
The Trinamool leadership on Thursday slammed BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis for his "suitcase politics" jibe at the party, and said that it was the saffron camp that had mastered the art of poaching politicians.
The former Maharashtra Chief Minister and BJP's poll in-charge for Goa, during a press meet in Delhi, claimed that the Trinamool visited the western state with a "suitcase to put forward its expansion plans, but the leaders of Goa were not for sale".
His remarks drew a sharp reaction from the Trinamool, which accused the BJP of “looking for lame excuses while staring at an imminent defeat” in Goa.
"The BJP should not talk about suitcase politics. The entire nation has seen what it (BJP) did during West Bengal assembly polls. They brought hordes of cash in chartered flights. In Goa, too, the party formed government in 2017, having poached MLAs from other parties. The BJP is staring at an imminent defeat in Goa, and making baseless allegations to justify that," Trinamool MP Sougata Roy said.
Trinamool's in-charge for Goa, Mahua Moitra, said it was ridiculous that the "creator of suitcase politics is accusing others of following suit".
The Trinamool recently announced its first list of candidates for Goa Assembly polls, scheduled next month. The Mamata Banerjee-led party is fighting the elections to the 40-member Assembly in alliance with Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP).
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)