The BJP criticised the Congress, alleging that the Mamata Banerjee government has refused permission for Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in West Bengal as a tactic to embarrass the grand-old party. The BJP's remarks followed West Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury's statement that they were encountering obstacles in obtaining permission for organising certain public gatherings in the state as part of the yatra.
In a post on X, BJP co-incharge for West Bengal and IT department head Amit Malviya said, "Mamata Banerjee's decision to deny Rahul Gandhi's Yatra permission is like the last nail in the coffin of I.N.D.I. Alliance." "The decision is intended to humiliate the Congress... But it is interesting to see the Congress suffer from stockholm syndrome and continue to plead Mamata Banerjee to join the Yatra for just 5 minutes," he added.
Malviya alleged that Banerjee is "nervous" and resorting to such actions with the aim of enabling the Trinamool Congress (TMC) to contest all Lok Sabha seats in West Bengal to "maintain relevance after the results."
"The excuse that it has been done in view of exams is a sham. There is no such compulsion because exams start on February 2 and the Yatra was to enter Siliguri region on January 28," he said.
Banerjee's declaration that her party will contest the Lok Sabha polls "alone" in the state unsettled the Congress and caused political waves in the Indian political landscape. Seat-sharing negotiations between the Congress and the TMC derailed after the latter accused the former of presenting unreasonable demands without recognising the prevailing circumstances.