Bengal BJP chief slams TMC's plans to go national

As West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is planning to go national on Martyrs' Day, state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh on Wednesday said that it is a tradition in the state that when the government fails, the ruling party starts talking about expansion and national presence.

Referring to Banerjee's plan for Trinamool Congress (TMC) expansion ahead of next general elections, Ghosh said, "She is trying it for long to make TMC a national party but she failed in all her previous attempts. West Bengal has a tradition that when the ruling party fails to govern, it starts trying to become a national party. CPI-M had done it when Jyoti Basu was the chief minister. Now, she is doing the same. It is not new, it is part of a tradition."

Talking about CPI-M's attempt to make then chief minister Basu the Prime Minister, Ghosh said, "CPI-M had tried hard to make Jyoti Basu Prime Minister but it failed. (Harkishan Singh) Surjeet ji worked very hard for CPM's national role and to make its leader Prime Minister of the country.