West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Wednesday reached out to opposition Congress and CPI(M) to join her fight against the BJP in the state but the two parties rejected her appeal saying her policies are responsible for the saffron party's growth.
Speaking during the debate on the governor's address in the state assembly, she said the BJP is trying to run a parallel government in the state and parties like the Congress and the CPI(M) should join hands with the TMC to fight against it.
"The people of the state are witnessing in Bhatpara what happens if you vote for the BJP. I feel all of us (TMC, Congress and CPI-M) should come together in the fight against the BJP. It doesn't mean we have to join hands politically. But on common issues at the state and the national levels, we can come together," she said.
The Trinamool Congress supremo said all the 23 opposition parties should unitedly fight against malfunctioning of EVMs.
"Before elections we (opposition parties) had tried to raise our voice against the use of EVMs. We had even approached the Supreme Court, but it didn't yield any result. We can take up the matter again and move court," she said.
Reminding the Congress about the importance of TMC's support in the floor of Parliament, Banerjee urged Leader of Opposition and senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan to stop abusing her party in Bengal and concentrate on fighting the BJP in the state.
Reacting to her appeal, Mannan said, "We don't need lessons from Mamata Banerjee on ways to fight the BJP. It is due to her policies that the BJP has gained ground in Bengal. She should first accept that it is due to her fault that the BJP has made inroads in Bengal."