It’s Not Time For Whataboutery: Alva To Mamata

| Updated: 22 July, 2022 4:36 pm IST

Margaret Alva and Mamata Banerjee

NEW DELHI: A day after the Trinamool Congress decided to abstain from voting in the Vice President election, opposition candidate Margaret Alva on Friday broke her silence describing the decision as “disappointing”. The veteran politician also said that this is not the time for ‘whataboutery’, ego or anger but time for courage and leadership.

“The TMC’s decision to abstain from voting in the VP election is disappointing. This isn’t the time for ‘whataboutery’, ego or anger. This is the time for courage, leadership and unity. I believe Mamata Banerjee, who is the epitome of courage, will stand with the opposition,” Alva said in a tweet.

Her remarks came a day after the Trinamool Congress decided to abstain from casting vote for the Vice Presidential election to be held on August 6.

AITC met at the official residence of party supremo and Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in the afternoon on Thursday. Party sources said that 85 per cent of the members present in the meeting decided to abstain from the voting.

Party’s general secretary Abhishek Banerjee later said, “The way Vice President candidate was decided without consulting with the party. The way they took the decision it’s not democratic…we have to think of the future of the people of this country and not of the opposition or of the government. The decision will not affect the opposition unity.”

After playing a pivotal role in the Presidential election, the party said that AITC had proposed some names for the Vice Presidential candidate and, importantly, those names were in consideration. However, suddenly the name was decided without consulting the AITC.

Party claims that the AITC supremo shares a good equation with opposition candidate Margaret Alva but “personal equation does not matter”.