Our workers not happy with clash with TMC at ground level: Jairam Ramesh

With Congress' Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra set to enter Bihar from West Bengal on Monday, party leader Jairam Ramesh has said that the Congress party workers are not happy with the clash with TMC at ground level.

"Our workers are not happy. Our workers are angry but Mamata Banerjee is a very important part of the INDIA alliance. She has reiterated that she will fight as a part of the INDIA alliance and that she will strengthen the alliance. But even I was bothered to some extent by the fight that is taking place at the grassroots level between TMC workers and Congress workers," said Jairam Ramesh.

"I explained to them that this alliance is a national-level alliance. In the states, we can fight, like in Kerala, where we fight with the leftists. We keep fighting with each other, but if we do not fight at the national level, we will have to find some similar formula," he said.

The Congress leader, while speaking to ANI at Siliguri, said, "From here we are going to Kishanganj and there will be a flag handover at the Ashafakullah Khan Stadium in Kishanganj. We will be staying in Araria tonight. From Kishanganj, we will be going to Purnia and then to Araria."

"The day after tomorrow, i.e., on January 31, we will be entering Jharkhand. We will be holding a public rally in Jharkhand on February 5 or 6 where the Congress President (Mallikarjun Kharge) is also expected to join us," he said.

The Congress leader also expressed his astonishment at the turnout witnessed by the Bharat Jodo Yatra in Jalpaiguri and Siliguri.

"The 'padyatra' that took place in Jalpaiguri was 2 km and 2 km in Siliguri. We did not expect that such a huge number of women, young, elderly and children would come out on the streets and stand on rooftops and balconies, welcoming the Bharat Jodo Nyaya Yatra. I am not saying that all these people will vote for us, but the response had so much energy. There was so much excitement," said Jairam Ramesh.

The Congress leader said that he is happy to see Congress' position in Jalpaiguri and Siliguri.

"This has been our Congress stronghold for years, but we have become somewhat weak. There is also a Hamro Party from Darjeeling; they have said that they will support Congress and the INDIA alliance, so this is a positive trend for us," said the congress leader.

Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra commenced from Manipur's Thoubal on January 14.

The yatra will cover over 6,700 kilometres over 67 days, traversing through 110 districts.