Chink in I.N.D.I.A bloc? Mamata attacks CPI(M), takes a dig at Rahul Gandhi

On the day Prime Narendra Modi led the ‘Pran Pratishtha’ celebrations at the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee used the platform of an all-faith meeting to lay bare the widening fissures within the I.N.D.I.A. bloc in an apparent effort to paint herself as the biggest opponent of the BJP ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

- SUPROTIM MUKHERJEE

She accused her bloc partner the CPI(M) of trying to dictate terms at the meeting of I.N.D.I.A. bloc, a statement which hints at the widening fissures within the Opposition alliance.

“I fought the CPI(M) for 34 years in Bengal. Now I see them trying to dictate terms at INDIA bloc meetings,” Banerjee said.

In an apparent dig at Congress scion Rahul Gandhi, she said: “Merely visiting temples will not help.”

While the nation was entranced by the ceremonies at Ayodhya, in a riposte to the Prime Minister, Banerjee offered prayers at a temple, a gurdwara, a masjid and a church during her threehour Sampriti (harmony) march which culminated in the minority-dominated Park Circus.