New Delhi, June 11:Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal on Thursday rejected reports suggesting a possible merger between the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), describing such claims as unfounded and misleading.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Venugopal said recent meetings involving West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi were routine discussions aimed at strengthening opposition unity under the INDIA bloc.
Calling the merger reports “baseless rumours,” Venugopal said the interactions were part of ongoing efforts by opposition parties to reinforce their collective campaign against the BJP-led government at the Centre.
“Everybody wants to strengthen the INDIA Alliance and intensify the fight against this anti-democratic government. The discussions were limited to that objective and nothing beyond it,” he said.
Turning to the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, the Congress leader accused authorities of unfairly rejecting the nomination papers of party candidate Meenakshi Natarajan in Madhya Pradesh while accepting nominations of other candidates despite alleged discrepancies in their documents.
He termed the development a blatant case of “seat chori” (theft of a seat) and questioned the fairness of the electoral process.
“Without any valid reason, the nomination of Meenakshi Natarajan was rejected, while other nominations with several irregularities were accepted. This raises serious concerns about the state of democracy in the country,” Venugopal alleged.
The Congress leader also expressed dissatisfaction with the response of the Election Commission of India (ECI), claiming that party representatives faced hurdles while attempting to file a formal complaint.
According to him, Congress leaders had to stage a protest before being allowed to submit their grievance. He further said senior party leaders met Election Commission officials the following day and presented their concerns, but no decision had been communicated even after more than 24 hours.
“We approached the Election Commission immediately and later met senior officials to explain the matter in detail. However, despite hearing our concerns, no action has been taken so far,” he said.
Venugopal asserted that the Congress would pursue the matter through both legal and political means.
“After vote theft, this is now seat theft. What has happened in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand is a clear case of seat chori. We will fight this battle legally as well as politically,” he stated.
The Congress leader also criticised the Centre over economic challenges facing the country. He cited rising unemployment, difficulties faced by the MSME sector, and increasing prices of essential fuels and cooking gas as major concerns affecting ordinary citizens.
“Petrol, diesel and LPG prices continue to rise, while unemployment has reached alarming levels. The MSME sector has suffered significantly, and young people are worried about their future due to a lack of job opportunities,” Venugopal said, accusing the government of failing to address public distress.
