Rahul, Sonia should not attend TMC's oppn rally, feels WB Cong

The West Bengal Congress is of the opinion that the party's national president Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi should refrain from attending the proposed opposition rally to be held here by the TMC in January.

The Congress should instead send a party leader to the rally just for the sake of representation, sources in the party said on Wednesday.

West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee, who was invited to the swearing-in ceremony of Kamal Nath, did not attend the programme and sent party MP Dinesh Trivedi instead.

The Congress' state unit leadership, including West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee chief Somen Mitra will meet Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi Thursday to discuss the party's strategy in the state in view of the Lok Sabha election next year and organisational matters, sources said.

"We feel that Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi should refrain from attending the January 19 rally. They should instead send just a representative in a tit for tat for what the TMC did during the swearing in ceremony of Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh," a sources in the Congress said.

The Congress' state unit is upbeat after the party's win in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan in the recent assembly polls.

"We will convey our opinion to the party leadership. It is for them to decide," a state Congress leader said.

The state Congress leadership has been vocal against the TMC also for not giving credit to Rahul Gandhi for the grand old party's victory in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.

"Why should Congress' top leaders attend TMC's opposition rally when it is not at all ready to give the Congress the credit for the victory in the assembly polls in three Hindi heartland states?" another state Congress leader asked.

The TMC has called a rally of opposition parties on January 19 at the Brigade Parade grounds in Kolkata. All opposition parties, including the Congress have been invited to it.

The TMC along with some other opposition parties, including the TDP had distanced themselves from DMK president M K Stalin's comment proposing the name of Rahul Gandhi as the prime ministerial candidate.

The TMC had said that such an announcement would be premature as it might divide the opposition camp.

Hitting back at the Trinamool Congress, Mitra said, "The Congress high command has never said that the party would like to contest the Lok Sabha polls along with the TMC in West Bengal. Our party leadership has told us to strengthen our own organisation in the state."