The presence of Congress leaders from Delhi on stage at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s upcoming Brigade Rally does not mean they will go soft on the state government, the party’s Bengal unit said Wednesday. Advertising Meanwhile, sources said the All India Congress Committee (AICC) had decided to send Mallikarjun Kharge to represent the party at the January 19 mega rally. Sources within the state Congress said no one from the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) will attend the rally. State party president Somen Mitra said, “They (AICC) had informed us last night about Kharge taking part in the rally and we had said okay, fair enough. On a broader perspective, they (TMC) had asked several times to send a Congress representative and thus, he has been sent.” “We are happy that the party high-command has respected our sentiments. The sentiment of the state leadership was against Sonia ji or Rahul ji attending the January 19 rally. So we had requested the party high-command to consider the sentiments of the state unit,” a senior state Congress leader said, according to a PTI report. Asked if the move meant they will soften their stand against the TMC, he said, “The question does not arise at all. Our fight against the atrocities of TMC will continue and intensify in Bengal. Here we are fighting against the misrule and terror of TMC, which will continue.” Ironically, Congress Rajya Sabha member and senior lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi had represented TMC in Supreme Court while it was hearing the BJP’s plea for permission to take out its rath yatras. The move did not go down with the state unit, said sources, with Chowdhury calling him a “mercenary”. Senior state Congress leaders such as MLA Abdul Mannan and Rajya Sabha member Pradeep Bhattacharya will be present at the airport to welcome Kharge, who is the party’s leader in Lok Sabha. Advertising Sources said they plan to brief him about the situation in Bengal and request him to deliver his speech at the rally keeping in mind the party’s stand.

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