Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh  said that the opposition parties that believe that an anti-BJP front can be formed without the grand old party are living in a “fool’s paradise”.

Several opposition parties have been pitching for a joint alliance against the BJP to oust the party from power in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Ramesh said those who talk of opposition unity sans the Congress only want to weaken the opposition front and the grand old party.

“There cannot be any opposition unity without the Congress as its fulcrum. That is fundamental. If any non-BJP outfit thinks any alliance sans the Congress can provide a stable government for five years, it is living in a fool’s paradise. There can never be any opposition unity minus the Congress,” Ramesh told PTI.

Targeting its former allies, he said that many regional parties have back-stabbed the Congress for their own self-interests. He said and that such parties should stop using the Congress as a punching bag.

“In an alliance, you give something and receive something in return. It is an understanding. So far, the Congress has been offering, and everyone has benefited from it. And after getting benefits, they have been trying to use the Congress as a punching bag to weaken it. This has to stop now,” he said.

In March, after the BJP won Assembly elections in four states including Uttar Pradesh, TMC chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Banerjee had approached regional forces to push for an anti-BJP front. However, she had tried to edge the Congress out of any such prospective formation, saying there was no point in waiting for the grand old party as they lack the “fire in their belly” to win elections.

Last year, the Shiv Sena had said keeping the Congress away from national politics and creating an opposition alliance parallel to the UPA without it is akin to strengthening the ruling BJP and the “fascist” forces.