New Delhi : After the BJP and Left threatened legal action against TMC spokesperson Derek O’Brien for showing a “morphed” picture to prove closeness between the two parties, CPI leader D. Raja on Sunday said the episode proves the party led by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is desperate and afraid of defeat in the assembly polls.
“This episode is very absurd and ridiculous. I am not like Derek O’Brien, who stoop so low in midst of political campaign or polemics in Bengal. It shows the way the TMC is taking the people of Bengal for granted, they have no respect for the people. they don’t believe in maturity and wisdom of the people,” Raja told ANI.
“This shows that the TMC is desperate and it is afraid of impending defeat in the coming elections, otherwise they must not have stooped to such low. The Election Commission should take cognizance of this issue,” he added.
O’Brien had called a press conference yesterday in which he showed two videos of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s speeches and four photographs, including one that showed Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh offering sweet to former CPM general secretary Prakash Karat.
His press conference was prompted by an earlier one by the Congress, where a 2001 video was aired that showed Mamata Banerjee referring to the BJP as “a natural ally” of the TMC.
In response, O’Brien sought to show that the Left and the BJP were “two sides of the same coin”.
However, the photograph showed by O’ Brien turned out to be “photoshopped” as the BJP later released the “real picture” – in which Rajnath is seen offering sweet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The TMC removed the photograph from its website, admitting the mistake. (ANI)