NEW DELHI: Union minister Kiren Rijiju on Friday criticised Rahul Gandhi over his comments on West Bengal politics, accusing the Congress leader of taking contradictory positions on the upcoming state election.Reacting to Rahul Gandhi’s remarks on social media, Rijiju wrote on X: “Bewildering…. on the one hand Rahul Gandhi Ji is saying only Congress can defeat BJP in West Bengal and on the other hand he’s saying, due to TMC’s polarizing politics, BJP will win West Bengal election!”The criticism came after Rahul Gandhi targeted Mamata Banerjee and her All India Trinamool Congress, despite both parties being part of the INDIA opposition bloc.In a post on X, Rahul said: “If Mamata ji had run a clean govt, and had she not polarised West Bengal, there would have been no way for BJP to make inroads into Bengal.”Appealing to voters to support Congress, he added: “In this battle of ideologies, only Congress can defeat BJP.”Rahul Gandhi also accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of undermining democratic institutions.“BJP steals elections. SIR is their way to steal elections. There is a direct fight between Congress and BJP’s ideologies,” he said in a video message.He further alleged that the BJP was working against Bengal’s identity and diversity.“BJP works against West Bengal’s culture, history, and Bengali language. BJP netas say ‘one nation, one language, one religion’. In this country there are many languages, religions, and ideologies. While we are trying to protect the Constitution, BJP is trying to destroy it,” Rahul said.The exchange highlights growing tensions within the INDIA bloc as campaigning intensifies in West Bengal, where Congress and the Trinamool Congress remain political rivals despite being part of a broader anti-BJP alliance nationally.
