On 25th January, former Congress leader Milind Deora targeted the grand old party over Trinamool Congress’s announcement that it will fight Lok Sabha elections alone in West Bengal. On social media platform X (formerly Twitter), Deora pointed out how the party leadership disregarded his warnings about Congress’s interests being taken for a ride.
He stated the Congress party has surrendered to a party lacking MPs, MLAs, candidates or ideology.
He wrote, “A few weeks ago, I stood as Maharashtra’s lone Congress leader, fighting to safeguard the party’s interests from being taken for a ride. My warnings were disregarded & Congress surrendered to a party lacking MPs, MLAs, candidates, or ideology. Yesterday, the chickens came home to roost in West Bengal.” The idiom “chickens came home to roost” means those who did evil or wrong things in the past are now experiencing the unpleasant effects of their actions.
Notably, TMC’s chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that her party will fight Lok Sabha elections alone in the state, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s leader and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has announced that Kejriwal-led AAP will fight General Elections alone in Punjab.
Both parties took a stand against the I.N.D.I. Alliance, dimming the possibilities of any ‘agreements’ for seat sharing that the I.N.D.I. Alliance has been allegedly discussing about months.
Deora, one of the top Congress voices in Maharashtra, left the grand old party on 14th January. In a tweet on 16th January, he slammed the party leadership for declining the invitation to the historic Ram Mandir Pran Pratishtha event on 22nd January 2024. In an interview, he said Ram Mandir’s inauguration was not political. He asserted that Congress’s decision to skip the consecration ceremony underscores that it has lost a cultural connection with the people of India.
Accusing Congress of losing its cultural connection with the people of India, he said, “In my opinion, the Ram Temple inauguration is the issue that has been settled after 500 years by the Supreme Court of India. This issue is not a political event. It’s not an event for the Hindu community or the Muslim community. It is an event for the world. It’s an event for humanity. The story of Ramayana transcends religion. It transcends nationality. You can argue it transcends even species. It’s a spiritual story. It’s a moral story. I don’t know why the party did what it did.”
Deora joined Shiv Sena (Shinde group) after leaving Congress. On his induction into Shiv Sena, Maharashtra CM and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde said it was just a trailer and the complete picture was yet to come. “I am joining him to strengthen his hands further. Prime Minister Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah also have a vision for the country. I also want to strengthen their hands through the Shiv Sena,” Deora said.
Later, Milind Deora took on X and explained why he left Congress to join the Eknath-Shinde-led Shiv Sena. He stressed that the current Congress party doesn’t resonate with what the party stood for in the past when he and his father joined the grand old party in 1968 and 2004, respectively. In a scathing criticism of the current leadership of the Congress party, in his letter, Deora pointed out that the party is creating a division on caste and an artificial North-South divide.
Former UPA Minister Deora added that Congress has deviated from its ideological and organisational roots and lacks appreciation for honesty and constructive criticism. He said that the Congress party has failed to attain power and effectively serve as constructive opposition at the centre.
Details about his letter can be checked here.