Congress with CPI(M) scuttling Bengal's development: TMC

Continuing its verbal war with Congress, Trinamool Congress on Thursday claimed that its ally has joined hands with opposition CPI(M) to conspire against it to scuttle development of West Bengal.

"When we are working for the development of the state, CPI(M) and Congress are jointly trying to scuttle that and opposing such efforts in the same language," Trinamool Congress secretary-general Partha Chatterjee told newspersons here.

"When Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is trying to steer the state out of the financial crisis created by the previous Left Front government, they are trying to rake up non-issues," Chatterjee, also the state industries minister, said. Regarding the Congress and CPI(M)'s criticism of the government over procurement of paddy from farmers, he said, "Congress leaders should know that the Centre fixes the minimum support price of paddy or jute. Despite that they are doing this, I wonder in whose interest they are doing this." "The state Congress leaders and CPI(M) should go together to Delhi to protest instead of here," he said.

Taking a dig at Congress minister in the state Manas Bhuniya, who criticised the government at a Congress rally alongwith other party leaders yesterday, Chatterjee said, "Remaining in the government and speaking against it in public on the streets is not dignified."

Supporting two Trinamool Congress ministers' outburst yesterday that the Congress MPs and MLAs should resign and seek fresh mandate if they had the guts, he said, "They should try to win an election without riding on the popularity of Mamata Banerjee and then say all this."

He claimed that the Congress and CPI(M) were resorting to lies to malign the Trinamool Congress and its leader Mamata Banerjee's efforts to speed up development of the state.