Kolkata Jan 26 PTI Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday claimed that he was not invited to the Republic Day parade here as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her government was yet to reconcile to her election defeat against him in Nandigram Talking to reporters on the sidelines of another programme Adhikari said Banerjee tried to avenge her humiliating assembly poll defeat by dropping his name from the list of invitees for the Red Road parade She is yet to reconcile to her defeat against me There could be a remedy to cancer but not to revengeful mindset and jealousy The CM must have forgotten that not inviting the leader of opposition was against the protocol the Nandigram MLA who was once a part of the Mamata Banerjee cabinet said Adhikari pointed out that last year months ahead of the assembly polls then leader of opposition Abdul Mannan was an invitee to the Republic Day parade Transport Minister and Kolkata Municipal Corporation Mayor Firhad Hakim when approached said he had no information about the matter Hakim however noted that Adhikari had failed to turn up at the Independence Day programme on Red Road last year I am not aware about the reasons Veteran Congress MP of Rajya Sabha Pradip Bhattacharya said he wont be able to speak on behalf of the Nandigram MLA as the two dont share the same ideology but if what he has claimed is true it was unfortunate The leader of opposition should always be invited to such events The CM Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar cabinet ministers were among those who attended the Red Road programme on Wednesday held with COVID-19 restrictions in place PTI SUS RMS RMS

Kolkata Dec 28 PTI Senior Congress leader Pradip Bhattacharya on Tuesday asserted that India cant be imagined without the grand old party and called for a fight against both BJP and Trinamool Congress which is trying to project itself as the main opposition against the saffron camp in place of Congress Addressing a function at Congress West Bengal headquarters Bidhan Bhavan on the 137th foundation day of the party the Rajya Sabha MP said If anyone thinks that India can be taken forward on the path of progress by abandoning the Congress heshe is living in a fools paradise It is not possible India cant be imagined without Congress The TMC of late claims to be the only force opposing the BJP and accuses war-weary Congress of failing to put up an effective fight against the saffron brigade Bhattacharya a former Congress state unit chief said that some people are attacking the grand old party to secure applause from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asserted that a party that has existed in national politics for 137 years cannot be wiped out I urge you all to fight against the unholy forces of BJP and TMC We will certainly emerge victorious one day Some are attacking the Congress to get the PMs applause But it is impossible for any force to wipe out a national party that has existed for 137 years he said The Congress has accused the TMC of effectively helping the BJP through its expansion drive in Goa Meghalaya and other states The ruling party in West Bengal has recently emerged as the main opposition party in Meghalaya after 12 of the 17 elected Congress MLAs joined Mamata Banerjees party en masse Bhattacharya said that the recently concluded Kolkata Municipal Corporation KMC elections in which Congress won only two of the 144 wards show that party workers are not afraid and can fight back A Congress candidate had alleged that he was beaten up by TMC workers after the conclusion of polling on December 19 He alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi does not have any clue as to how to bring down the prices of essential commodities or give jobs to crores of unemployed people PTI AMR ACD ACD