We will expand our presence, whether one party likes it or not, says Abhishek Banerjee

TMC’s national general secretary denied differences among the Opposition during the winter session

Sitting at the Gandhi statue in the Parliament complex along with other Opposition lawmakers protesting against the suspension of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs, the national general secretary of the Trinamool Congress Abhishek Banerjee pointed his party’s growing vote share, saying ‘attracts’ leaders from other parties rather than ‘poach’ them.

Trinamool is not aloof at all! We have been the fulcrum of the Opposition whether one likes it or not. Let the people decide what will happen and when. We are expanding our party’s presence across the country; we have gone into Tripura, Goa, Meghalaya and Haryana. Our party will keep on expanding its footprint, whether one party likes it or not. In a healthy democracy, it is the people who take the call.

The Congress did an alliance with a radical organisation in West Bengal in cahoots with the Left to oust Mamata Banerjee’s government. Doesn’t that amount to breaking Opposition unity? When the Congress poaches the AAP MLAs in Punjab, isn’t it hurting the opposition unity? And Trinamool does not poach. We attract. There is a difference.