Kolkata, April 7 The TMC and the BJP are two sides of the same coin, and West Bengal needs a new coin, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said on Tuesday, as he hailed his party's decision to go solo after 20 years and show a "third path" to the state.
Addressing a press conference on the Congress' manifesto launch for the West Bengal polls, the AICC general secretary in-charge communications also accused the BJP of "defaming" Rabindranath Tagore and claimed that it wants to do away with the national anthem "Jana Gana Mana."
Recalling the 1962 hit movie "Bees Saal Baad" starring Biswajeet, Ramesh said he is reminding people of the Bollywood film as it is exactly after 20 years that the Congress is fighting assembly polls on its own strength in West Bengal.
"The Congress fighting on its own 'bees saal baad' which is a booster dose for the party... In 2006, we fought solo, in 2026, we are fighting on our own strength. So as the Congress president (Mallikarjun Kharge) said this is like a booster dose for our party, workers and the people," the Congress leader said.
He said that with the Congress fighting on its own strength, it is showing a "third path" which is different from the current path and is not one that the BJP walks on.
This is a big achievement for the Congress, Ramesh added.
He also hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over the issue of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
"You know about the Constitution, but few would know that our Constitution has 22 illustrations related to our history that were in the first two copies -- Hindi and English --- on which Constituent Assembly members signed," Ramesh said.
"Nandalal Bose from Shantiniketan was given responsibility for it. Today, the family members of Nandalal Bose have been removed from electoral rolls through SIR," he said.
Ramesh said the SIR issue in West Bengal is a very "dangerous weapon".
"The BJP government (at the Centre) and the Election Commission have fired this cannon through SIR; we should be cautious of it. The matter is being heard in the Supreme Court, and we hope all citizens will finally be included in the electoral rolls," Ramesh said.
Recalling that three months ago, a special debate took place in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Vande Mataram, Ramesh alleged that the BJP's objective was to target Rabindranath Tagore by firing from the shoulder of Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
"You would remember the Vande Mataram national song. In 1937, in the Kolkata session of the Congress...it had been decided on how the song would be adopted on the advice of Tagore," Ramesh said.
The BJP is "defaming" Tagore and they want to do away with Jana Gana Mana, Ramesh alleged, adding that this is their "cultural nationalism".
"As (Mallikarjun) Kharge ji said, the way to be free from BJP's path of polarisation and hatred and from the deficiencies of the present governance, the Congress has shown the third way. These five guarantees that have been pledged, they will show a new way," Ramesh said.
So, after 20 years, the Congress has got new oxygen, the Congress leader said.
"The TMC and the BJP are two sides of the same coin, and a new coin is needed in West Bengal. Need to do away with the old coin with TMC and BJP on the two sides," Ramesh said.
The Congress is fighting solo in the polls. Elections to the 294-member West Bengal assembly will be held in two phases -- on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.