By IANS,
Kolkata : Following her party’s resounding victory in West Bengal in the Lok Sabha polls, Trinamool Congress chief and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Tuesday gave a call for ousting the Left Front from power in the state, but asked her party workers to avoid calling shutdowns and road blockades on petty issues.
Addressing her party’s Martyrs’ Day rally, she advised Trinamool activists to be modest and polite with the people and unveiled a broad outline of the policies her party-led alliance will pursue if it was voted to power in the state in the 2011 assembly elections.
The Trinamool Congress observes July 21 as Martyrs’ Day every year in memory of 13 Congress supporters who were killed in police firing this day in 1993. Banerjee was then in the Congress.
Banerjee said her party will strengthen democracy and provide an impartial administration, besides completely overhauling the state’s education system and ensuring good roads, a sound health infrastructure and electricity to every village.
“We want co-existence of agriculture and education. Why should people of Bengal have to go out in search of jobs? We have to create employment. Industries will be set up. Agriculture will survive,” Banerjee said at the rally where she dedicated her party-led alliance’s Lok Sabha win to octogenarian writer Mahasweta Devi for her steadfast support to the Trinamool’s sustained agitational programmes over the last three years.
After having organised a series of protest movements since 2006 against issues like acquisition of agricultural land for industries by the Left Front government, Banerjee Tuesday asked her workers to consult the party top brass before announcing shutdowns and road blockades.
“The going is tough for most people. It is not right to block roads in the name of organising movements. You can organise movements, but there should be no road blockade. If the issue is very serious, you should talk to me or other party high-ups,” she said.
However, Banerjee made it clear that she could not give employment to all. “You have to give time to didi. But first, the present government in the state must go.”
“We will fight, and usher in change in the state,” she said.
In a warning to Trinamool leaders now running various panchayat (village council) bodies controlled by the party, Banerjee said: “You must work well. If you don’t, we won’t be with you”.
With Congress general secretary in-charge of the state Keshav Rao by her side, Banerjee said her party wanted the alliance with the Congress to continue till the assembly polls two years from now.
Rao, on his part, said: “The hand (Congress election symbol) will never ditch Mamata”.
A large number of intellectuals, including Mahasweta Devi, dramatist Bratya Basu, painter Suvaprasanna and singer Nachiketa were among those felicitated during the programme.