The Congress and the BJP sparred over the fate of the INDIA bloc in Rajya Sabha on Friday.
Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the BJP would not even win 100 seats in the Lok Sabha elections this time as 'INDIA is strong'.
His remark prompted Union Minister Piyush Goyal to stand up and say that the alliance has no future since all their partners are leaving one by one.
The survival of INDIA has been a matter of intense debate in the backdrop of several political developments.
First, Mamata Banerjee decided to fight the Lok Sabha elections alone in West Bengal. She, however, said that TMC will continue to be a part of INDIA.
Second, Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, in yet another political flip-flop, ditched the opposition alliance and joined hands with the BJP.
Third, in a setback for the INDIA bloc, the AAP-Congress alliance lost the Chandigarh mayoral polls to the BJP.
Fourth, the arrest of ex-Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren further compounds the alliance's problems. Soren's party JMM is a part of INDIA.
'You won't be able to cross 100 this time. INDIA is strong. INDIA is strong. You tell me? Is India weak? Is India weak, Sir?
'Everyday a partner of INDI alliance is leaving. I don't know if INDI alliance even exists right now or not,' Goyal replied.