KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: The TMC 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 CM and BJP's poll in-charge for Goa, during a press meet in Delhi, claimed that the TMC 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 TMC, 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," TMC MP Sougata Roy said.
TMC's in-charge for Goa, Mahua Moitra, said it was ridiculous that the "creator of suitcase politics is accusing others of following suit".
The TMC 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).