'Losers' trying their luck: BJP mocks Mamata Banerjee's mega rally

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday mocked the mega Opposition rally organised by West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee against the Narendra Modi government. Terming the opposition leaders as 'losers', Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said: "These are leaders lost and battered leaders who want to try their luck again. (Ye sab thake huye pite huye pehelwan hain jo akhaade mein ja kar phir apni qismat aazmana chahte hain.)

He also reminded the opposition of the fate of the Congress- Janata Dal Secular alliance in Karnataka. "The one alliance that they have made in Karnataka is in such a shape, you can imagine what will happen in the future," he added. The Congress and the JDS have been alleging that BJP is trying to poach its MLAs in Karnataka to topple the state government.

Union Minister Babul Supriyo also lashed out at Mamata for harassing the general public on account of the rally. "By putting the traffic on stand still & harassing the general public, TMC wants to stand up for the state’s well fare? How ironical! I urge all to share their today's traffic woes," he tweeted.

By putting the traffic on stand still & harassing the general public, TMC wants to stand up for the state’s well fare? How ironical! I urge all to share their today's traffic woes. #NaMoAgain @narendramodi @AmitShah @BJP4India @BJP4Bengal @KailashOnline — Babul Supriyo (@SuPriyoBabul) January 19, 2019

Supriyo also added: "TMC has a large fund base for the rally but not for the state? Kolkata will witness a show of hypocrisy today."

More than 20 national leaders have converged in Kolkata for the mega Opposition rally. Those attending the rally include former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, former Union ministers Yashwant Sinha, Shatrughan Sinha and Arun Shourie; three present chief ministers Arvind Kejriwal, Chandrababu Naidu and HD Kumaraswamy; and former chief ministers Farooq Abdullah, Omar Abdullah, Akhilesh Yadav and Gegong Apang. 

With Bharatiya Janata Party's recent defeats in the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, Mamata has raised the pitch to be united against the saffron party in the 2019 general election.