KOLKATA: TMC on Saturday declined to attach much importance to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's latest olive branch to regional parties saying the Congress leader lacks "consistency" and should bring some "clarity in his thought process".
Trinamool Congress spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Ray told PTI, "Rahul Gandhi lacks consistency and should bring some clarity in his thought process. A few days back he had said the regional parties lack ideology and only Congress can fight against the BJP."
"Today he is saying something completely different. So Congress and Rahul Gandhi should clarify which statement is true and which one should be trusted," he said.
Backtracking from his stand in Udaipur, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said his party respects regional outfits and does not want to be "the Big Daddy" while asserting that the fight against the BJP will be a "group effort".
When asked to comment on Rahul Gandhi's latest olive branch, another senior TMC leader who did not wish to be named, said the Congress "lacks fire in its belly" to take on BJP and its election juggernaut.
"The Congress has a lacklustre approach in its fight against the BJP. If it is serious about taking along regional parties, then it is welcome. But we have serious doubts about Congress' intention to fight against the saffron camp," the TMC leader said.
Reacting to TMC's statement, state Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who is also the party's leader in the Lok Sabha, said TMC has failed to understand the essence of Gandhi's statement and is "deliberately trying to distort it".
"TMC should first clarify its stand on BJP. Both the parties once had an understanding," Chowdhury told PTI.
Gandhi's remark on the regional parties made during an interactive session at the 'Ideas for India' conference in London were in contrast to his comments at the Congress' three-day 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur recently.
He had then said that only the Congress can fight the BJP at the national level and regional outfits cannot fight this battle as they do not have an ideology.