Wednesday 13 / November / 2024
Niyamatpur/Durgapur: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday shared stage with the leaders of the Left Front, with which his party has entered into seat-sharing for the Assembly elections in eastern Indian state of West Bengal, and expressed confidence about formation of a coalition government in the state.
Accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee of unleashing "dictatorship", he said his party has joined hands with the Left Front to defeat Trinamool Congress in the state where corruption is rampant.
"Congress and Left Front government will come to power in the state after the election," he told election meetings of the two parties.
Rahul said when he asked Congress leaders in the state as to how they wanted to fight the polls, they replied that they "don't want her dictatorship and want to join hands with the Left to defeat TMC".
"I told them if you want this, it will be done. Now stand up together with the Left and defeat TMC," he said.
Hitting out at Mamata, the Congress vice president alleged that she had unleashed a "dictatorship" in the state.
"Five years back in the 2011 Assembly polls, we had not extended support to her for starting a dictatorship," he said.
Referring to the Narada sting operation against TMC leaders, he said, "No action has been taken against them. No action has been taken against those involved in Saradha scam in five years by Mamata."
Rahul charged that "corruption in Bengal under TMC rule has reached such a point that Congress and Left have come together to fight and defeat TMC".
Congress and Left Front workers attended Rahul's meetings on a sultry day on the campaign trail for the upcoming polls and the Congress vice president expressed happiness that they had turned up to hear him. Rahul urged Congress workers to go to the people and seek their support for helping the formation of a coalition government in Bengal.
The Congress Vice President said the Congress-Left Front government would be a "people's government".
Former state minister and ex-CPI(M) MP Bangsagopal Chowdhury, who was present on the stage with Rahul at Niyamatpur, said the "terror and atrocities unleashed by TMC" as well as the corruption under its rule had forced the Left to join hands with Congress.
Rahul, meanwhile, also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he accused him of trying to "kill democracy" in the country. He further charged that Mamata was "doing the same" in West Bengal.
"Modiji is trying to crush democracy in the country. He has brought down Congress governments in Arunachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand in the most arbitrary manner," he said.
"He (Modi) wants there to be only one leader in the country and that is himself," he said.
"When I meet TMC MPs in Parliament, they say it is only what she (Mamata) wants that is done. None of them has any say. It is the same in BJP as well," he said.
"We want Bengal to have a government in which everyone has a voice," said Rahul.
At another rally in Bankura, Rahul attacked Mamata Banerjee for "not keeping" her poll promises.
She had assured the people of providing employment to 7 million people, but no jobs were given, the Congress vice president said.
Mamata, he said, claims credit for schemes which are actually centrally sponsored ones and for which "she had not done anything".
He cited the example of MNREGA which guarantees 100 days of wage-employment in a year to rural household and was launched by the UPA government.
The Congress leader also claimed that money sent for implementation of drinking water scheme in Jangalmahal area by the then prime minister Manmohan Singh government was returned back.
Meanwhile, campaigning for the initial part of the first phase of Assembly polls in West Bengal ended on Saturday, two day before 18 constituencies of Maoist-affected areas in West Midnapore,
Purulia and Bankura will vote.133 candidates will try their luck in the first of the six phases of Assembly elections.
There are total 4,945 polling stations out of which 1,962 have been classified as critical ones by the Election Commission.
Voting will be held amidst tight security by both central and state police forces from 7am.
In some seats, polling will end at 4pm due to security considerations while in others it will go on till 6pm.
To monitor the polling process, 14 general observers, 676 micro observers, 202 digital cameras, 642 video cameras, 210 CCTVs have been deployed.
