Senior Trinamool Congress leader and MP Shatrughan Sinha has dubbed opposition bloc INDIA as “filtered coffee” which is gaining momentum ahead of the Lok Sabha polls and emphasised the importance of not discounting the Congress, citing its track record of comebacks in politics.
Lauding Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for conducting “krantikari (revolutionary) yatras” across the country, the Asansol MP, however, asserted that TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee would be a “game-changer” after the results are announced.
In an interview, the actor-turned-politician termed the electoral bond as a “major scam and extortion racket” of the Bharatiya Janata Party and said the “seven-phase elections are a boon for the opposition parties to expose the saffron camp’s extortion and blackmail racket in the form of electoral bonds. The BJP will be defeated in this election. If the NDA has the support of the CBI, ED, and Income Tax, INDIA has the support of the masses. Many think that INDIA doesn’t have partners, but the fact is people are its biggest ally. The opposition alliance is gaining momentum in various parts of the country,” he said.
He claimed that INDIA alliance is like “filtered coffee” with “solid leaders” such as Akhilesh Yadav of Samajwadi Party, Tejashwi Yadav of Rashtriya Janata Dal, and many others being part of the bloc.
“Several important leaders across the country are part of the INDIA alliance, and that is why I call this filtered coffee. This filtered coffee would taste much better when other opposition leaders would also join it after the elections,” he said.
Asked about the reluctance of parties like Aam Aadmi Party and TMC to have Congress leading the opposition bloc, Sinha remarked that the presence of the grand old party “is a must for any opposition alliance just like any other opposition party. Congress is a national party and should not be ruled out.…” he said.
He, added: “Those who are not in the INDIA bloc now or are fighting separately doesn’t mean they will not join the opposition front after the polls.
Asked about opposition parties including the TMC receiving funds through electoral bonds, he said, “You cannot compare the two, whether it is Congress, TMC, or any other opposition party, they have received money under the system but didn’t misuse central agencies.”
Sinha lauded Rahul Gandhi for conducting two yatras crisscrossing the entire length and breadth of the country.
“Rahul Gandhi is a competent leader. He is a tried and tested leader. But at the same time, I believe our party supremo will be the game-changer in terms of government formation post-elections. But who will be prime minister will be decided by the opposition parties after elections,” he said.
The Bollywood actor switched over to the TMC in 2022. He successfully fought the by-election from Asansol, an industrial town in West Bengal.
Sinha, who has been renominated for the second time from the Asansol seat, exuded confidence in retaining the seat by a larger margin than the 2022 bypoll.
Follow us
