Should investors come to Bengal to witness lunacy, asks Buddhadeb

"Under her regime not a single industrial project has come to the state. Why will the investors come here? Will they come to witness lunacy? No matter what or how much this government says, nothing will happen," said Bhattacharjee.

The veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader's obvious reference was to a recently concluded investors' summit where Banerjee, addressing investors, stressed more on the "wrongs committed by the previous regime", rather than projecting her state as an attractive investment destination.

Addressing a party rally at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district, some 30 km from here, the former chief minister ridiculed Banerjee over a number of issues with major emphasis on lack of industrialisation.

"They do not want big industrial projects. They say manufacture pickle, papads etc at home and sell. But unless there are capital industries, small and medium or even cottage industries cannot flourish. They only want you to sell papads," said Bhattacharjee.

He also rubbished Banerjee's repeated claims that her government has completed "almost 90 percent of the promised work" and said that all the announcements including setting up super-specialty hospitals and cold storages in every district will never materialise for want of money.

"The government keeps whining about lack of funds but can afford to celebrate festivals every alternate day. Huge public money is being spent on her life-size cutouts and pictures. We can never imagine misuse of public money like this," he said.

The 70-year-old also attacked the Banerjee government for the rising crime chart in the state and asserted that women were apprehensive of going out of homes.

Giving a call to "get ready for the upcoming panchayat (rural) polls", Bhattacharjee claimed it was the Left Front regime under which panchayats flourished, empowering the rural population.