Launching a brutal attack on Congress over its alliance with the Indian Secular Front (ISF) of Muslim cleric Abbas Siddiqui for the upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal, BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra on Tuesday said that the age-old party has become irrelevant and to “retain the Gandhi family's political relevance”, it is entering into electoral pacts with parties like ISF.
Patra said, "Today, Congress depends on the alliance to maintain its relevance. One such alliance is being done by Rahul Gandhiji and his Congress party in Bengal. All the alliances that Congress has formed have not been done for any good performance, good reforms or good governance. These alliances were done only to somehow retain the Gandhi family's political relevance.”
The Congress describes itself as secular, has allied with the ISF in Bengal, joins the Muslim League in Kerala and Badruddin's party in Assam, Patra further added.
"It (the Congress) has no ideology. Its only ideology is corruption and nepotism and to come to power anyhow. Such alliances highlight the Congress' doublespeak and utmost hypocrisy," he said.
Attacking Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, he said, "Rahul had once said that 'yes, we are a party of Muslims'. But it is not even a party of Muslims, it is only a party of the family."
Congress has now become a party of four leaders, Patra alleged referring to its president Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra -- both party general secretaries -- and Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra.
Pointing at the protest against its own party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Patra said There is no tolerance in the Congress party, adding that it is "saddening" to see senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and others being targeted.
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"Their only agenda is 'hate Modi'. It has grown to such an extent that Congress workers are protesting on the streets against their leaders who have praised the good works of Modi," he said, mocking Rahul Gandhi as an 'empty missile'.
Patra's attack came after a war of words between two senior Congress leaders -- Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Anand Sharma over alliance with ISF. The Congress party is contesting the West Bengal assembly elections in alliance with the Left and ISF but is fighting the CPI-M in Kerala as the principal opposition party.