Not everyone in RSS is bad, says West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee; draws criticism

KOLKATA: A veritable political 'storm in a tea cup' has arisen over TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's assertions on Wednesday that all in the RSS were "not bad" and there are many who "do not support BJP".
While AIMIM, Congress and CPM on Thursday attacked her for what they saw as opportunism on Banerjee's part, BJP said it did not need certificates from her.
RSS, instead of commenting on her left-handed praise, pointed to Bengal's record of political violence and asked for corrective measures.
The sharpest attack came from AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi, who on Thursday said that "in 2003 too, she had called RSS 'patriots', (and) in turn RSS had called her "Durga". "Hope TMC's 'Muslim faces' praise her for her honesty and consistency," he added sarcastically.
TMC, however, tried to make light of Owaisi's remark and said the party doesn't need to prove its secular credentials to him. "Mamata Banerjee has tried to say that every organisation has good and bad people. We don't need to prove our secular credentials to anyone after we defeated the BJP-RSS juggernaut in the last assembly polls," TMC MP Sougata Roy said.
However, a host of bigger parties joined the AIMIM in taking on Mamata. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Thursday said, "This is not for the first time that she has praised RSS."
Banerjee had allied herself with the BJP-led NDA during late Atal Behari Vajpayee's term as prime minister before distancing herself from NDA, but had a tempestuous relationship with the alliance, often attacking it over disinvestment and other issues.
The Communists were not far behind in pillorying Banerjee. CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty claimed that her comments vindicate the Left party's stand that she is a "product" of RSS. "It is once again clear TMC is not trustworthy in the fight against BJP," he said.