Trinamool Veteran Backs Rahul Gandhi, But Party Stays Aloof From Congress

Rahul Gandhi, pilloried by the ruling BJP for his remarks in the UK about "Indian democracy coming undone", has found support from unlikely quarters. The Congress leader did not insult India with his remarks in the UK, said Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Ray today.

"Rahul Gandhi does not need to apologise. I don't think he has insulted the country with his comments. The BJP is wrong," the veteran Trinamool Congress leader said.

Notably, the Trinamool Congress yesterday stayed away from a joint opposition press meet in which various parties expressed solidarity with the Congress on Rahul Gandhi.

The Trinamool also skipped an opposition meeting at Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge's office and did not join opposition protests in parliament.

"Every party has their own strategy. TMC is an opposition party, and our position is different. We will take steps according to people's needs," Mr Ray said, pointing out that his party was protesting today on the rise in LPG cylinder (cooking gas) prices and the exposure of public sector companies to the Adani stock crash following the Hindenburg allegations.

On snubbing Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, the Trinamool Congress leader said: "He is calling all parties, but our policy is that we will fight for the opposition's cause alone."

Rahul Gandhi had recently said in London that the structures of Indian democracy "are under brutal attack" and that there is a full-scale assault on the institutions of the country.

Several Union Ministers, including Rajnath Singh and Piyush Goyal, have demanded an apology from the Congress MP, accusing him of denigrating India on foreign soil. Since yesterday, there have been multiple disruptions in parliament over the Rahul Gandhi comments.

This has added a new layer to the ongoing government-opposition row over the Adani-Hindenburg allegations, with some parties like the Congress insisting on a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into the US short seller's claims.

The Adani Group has strongly denied the allegations of financial fraud and stocks manipulation.