BJP calls Congress 'nalayak' over Mamata Banerjee's decision to go alone in Bengal in Lok Sabha polls

Bengaluru: R Ashoka, Leader of Opposition in Karnataka assembly, called Congress "nalayak" while reacting to TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's announcement that the Trinamool Congress will go it alone in the Lok Sabha polls in West Bengal.

Ashoka claimed Banerjee has refused to give in to the grand old party's "impractical demand" for contesting eight seats in West Bengal.

"I welcome Mamta Banerjee's stand (for not giving in to the Congress demand). She meant that not even one Congress leader is worth contesting the Lok Sabha seat in West Bengal. Therefore it is a nalayak party," he told reporters when asked to comment on the issue here.

Not only Banerjee, but also Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav would soon bid goodbye to the Congress, he said.

Taking a jibe at the first INDIA bloc meeting held in Bengaluru, Ashoka said, "They all came to Bengaluru to have best of the briyanis at the West End hotel ... Mamata Banerjee wants Congress to get out from West Bengal".

Joining the issue, senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the alliance has broken apart and is a big setback for the Congress.

"I.N.D.I.A has broken apart. Without leaders like Mamata Banerjee, Nitish Kumar and Akhilesh Yadav what is the alliance? This bickering shows the policy and attitude of the Congress. So, when the Congress is unable to get the confidence of the Opposition itself, will they gain the confidence of the people? It is the big setback for the Congress," he said.

Asked for his reaction on Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's comment that there is no 'Ram lehar' (Ram wave) in India, Bommai said, "When you look through Ravanna's glasses, you don't see Ram there. But if you look through Ram's Bhakti glasses, you will see Him everywhere," he said.

Asked about veteran Congress leader Veerappa Moily questioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi's fast, Bommai said, "I don't know whether age has caught up with him (Moily). I don't know why he is making such comments that are really not true or relevant."