KOLKATA: Hitting back at the Trinamool Congress for alleging it was colluding with the Marxists, the West Bengal state Congress leadership Wednesday termed its alliance partner as the 'B-team' of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Left.
It also accused the Trinamool of constantly playing spoilsport to various policies of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance.
"We are being constantly blamed as the B-team of the CPI-M. But it is Trinamool which has been on the same boat with BJP on the issue of FDI in retail. They (Trinamool) along with BJP and the Left had opposed the FDI in retail, although they are our alliance partner. In the case of Lokpal bill also, Trinamool MPs in Rajya Sabha took the same tone as that of CPI-M MP Sitaram Yechury," said Deepa Dasmunsi, Congress MP.
"After so many instances why can't we call them B-team of Left and BJP when on each and every issue they are opposing the Congress at the centre? They are the B-team of CPI-M and Left," said Dasmunsi.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had Tuesday accused the Congress of colluding with the Communists to hurt her Trinamool Congress.
Manas Bhuniya, state irrigation minister and senior Congress leader, echoing Dasmunsi said: "Why are they always criticizing us by saying that we are the B-team of CPI-M if we don't agree with them on certain issues?"
The state congress leadership was speaking at a rally organized to protest against the "inaction" on the part of the state government to take care of farmers who said they were not getting proper price for their agricultural produce.
The Congress-Trinamool ties both in the state and at the centre have remained uneasy since Banerjee joined the UPA after the 2009 Lok Sabha election.
She has bitterly opposed and blocked some of the key policies and bills of the UPA government, including the anti-corruption Lokpal bill.
Banerjee also raised objections to the proposed foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail, forcing the government to put the move on hold.