Kumaraswamy meets Banerjee; criticizes BJP's "vindictive politics"

• Karnataka's former CM and JDS chief, H.D. Kumaraswamy, met with WB CM Mamata Banerjee in Kolkata
• They discussed the political situation in India ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls
• Kumaraswamy criticized the BJP government's dismissal of Rahul Gandhi as an MP from the Lok Sabha, calling it "vindictive politics"

Former Chief Minister of Karnataka and Janata Dal Secular (JDS) supremo, H.D. Kumaraswamy, arrived in Kolkata today and met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee met in Kalighat  . 

According to sources within the Trinamool Congress (TMC), the meetings with non-Congress, non-BJP leaders are part of the party's efforts to build unity among regional powers.

Friday's meeting will marked Banerjee's third meeting with a non-BJP, non-Congress leader in just one week, after meeting with Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Thursday and Samajwadi Party supremo Akhilesh Yadav last week.

Kumaraswamy had previously attended a meeting of opposition parties convened by Banerjee in January 2019.

During his visit, Kumaraswamy also spoke to the media about the recent dismissal of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi as an MP from the Lok Sabha, calling it "vindictive politics."

He accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of trying to silence opposition voices and expressed concern over the state of democracy in the country. Kumaraswamy urged opposition parties to come together to fight against the ruling party's attempts to suppress dissent.