By IANS,
Baharampur (West Bengal) : Speaking in the Communist bastion of West Bengal, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi Saturday asked people not to vote for the Left Front and said it only indulges in big talk but does little for the poor.
“The Communist government here does not work for the poor, tribals and backward classes. They always indulge in tall talk but when it comes to implementation, they just do nothing,” he said at a rally here during his second campaign visit to the state for the Lok Sabha elections.
“The people of West Bengal will have to think and take their decision. It’s incumbent on them which government they will choose at the centre. They also have to bring change, defeating the ruling Left Front government in the state.”
Rahul Gandhi also accused the Communist government of not implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and failing to work for the development of the poor.
“I used to think the Communist government here works for the betterment of backward sections. But I am surprised to see the real situation,” he said, adding: “They can only criticise the policies formulated by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre”.
He said under the NREGS, there was a guarantee of 100 days work, but in West Bengal people only get 17 days of work.
“What type of a Communist government is this, which does not work for the poor?” he asked.
Gandhi was in Murshidabad district, about 250 km from state capital Kolkata, to campaign for Congress candidate and local strongman Adhir Chowdhury who is contesting from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat.
Earlier in the day, Rahul visited Murshidabad constituency, which goes to polls in the next phase of Lok Sabha elections May 7. There he spoke out against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), accusing it of trying to divide the country into rich and poor.
“The NDA wants to divide the country into two – one comprising a chosen few and another with the common people and backward sections,” he said, referring to the ‘India Shining’ campaign of the NDA during the 2004 elections.
“The NDA government forgot farmers, but we gave Rs.700 billion to farmers (in loan waivers). We have opened the bank doors for farmers who were unable to take loans as they were already indebted to banks. But now they can take loans,” Rahul Gandhi said.
Three-phased Lok Sabha polls are being held in West Bengal, of which two are still left.