Bengal BJP Leader Uses Slang For Rahul Gandhi, Trinamool Slips In A Swipe

Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's derogatory remark on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi has provided an opportunity to the ruling Trinamool to take a swipe at state Congress leaders amid a tussle over seat-sharing for Lok Sabha polls.

This comes at a time when the Rahul Gandhi-led Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra is moving through the east. The yatra, which began at Manipur on January 14, has passed through the Northeast before entering Bengal on Thursday. After a two-day break, it resumed today and reached Bihar. It is scheduled to re-enter Bengal later this week.

Responding to a query on the yatra's impact, Mr Adhikari used a derogatory remark for Mr Gandhi to imply that he is a fool. He then referred to Mr Gandhi's 'coal on the stove' remark that was earlier mocked by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. "Who is Rahul Gandhi. He says you should heat tea after putting coal on a stove. Coal on a stove? I have never heard anything like this," he said.

Mr Gandhi made the remark at a rally in Assam's Dhubri when he was targeting Mr Sarma over corruption. Alleging that the Assam Chief Minister is the country's most corrupt Chief Minister and has a cut in every business, including coal and tea, Mr Gandhi said, "When you wake up in the morning and put coal on the stove to prepare tea, the profit from coal goes to your Chief Minister. The tea which you drink, its plantations and gardens belong to your chief minister."

While the state Congress has lodged a police complaint against the BJP leader for using derogatory remark aimed at Rahul Gandhi, its INDIA ally Trinamool has used the opportunity to target both the BJP and, particularly, the Congress's state leaders.

"We have filed a police complaint against Suvendu Adhikari for making distasteful and derogatory remarks against our leader Rahul Gandhi. This behaviour is unacceptable and defamatory. We have urged the police to take immediate action," state Congress leader Suvankar Sarkar told news agency PTI, also demanding an unconditional apology from Mr Adhikari

Sharing a video clip of Mr Adhikari's remark, Trinamool leader and spokesperson Kunal Ghosh posted on X, "What language is the traitor using to target Rahul Gandhi. Such uncouth behaviour in politics must stop. How low will state Congress leaders acting as BJP's pimps stoop? Will you take this lying down? Suvendu's politics has no shame now. I protest this sick language."

The "traitor" reference is Trinamool's signature barb at Mr Adhikari, once a trusted lieutenant of party supremo Mamata Banerjee who then switched to the BJP and became an arch-rival.

The Trinamool leader's remark comes against the backdrop of the tug-of-war between his party and the Congress over seat-sharing in INDIA alliance. Virtually pulling the plug on an alliance in Bengal, Ms Banerjee last week said her party will contest the Lok Sabha polls alone and any decision on an alliance will be taken after the election. The Congress has since been in damage control mode and has said INDIA bloc cannot be imagined without Ms Banerjee.

The Trinamool leadership has repeatedly blamed the local Congress unit, helmed by the party's Lok Sabha leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, for the impasse over seat-sharing. The party has, in the past, also accused Mr Chowdhury of being a "BJP agent".

Mr Chowdhury has been fiercely critical of Ms Banerjee, calling her an "opportunist" and rejecting the Trinamool's offer of two seats as part of the seat-sharing arrangement. The Trinamool maintains that it has been quite generous in its offer and criticised the Congress for the delay in reaching an understanding.