On the last day of campaigning for the fourth phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, Housing Minister Gautam Deb appealed to the people of Purba Medinipur to vote for the Left and “help in forming the next Left Front government as it is sure to be returned to power.”
Addressing a rally at Chandipur on Sunday, Mr. Deb, who is a central committee member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said: “The situation in Purba Medinipur is precarious. There have been places where we have not even been able to campaign, so it would be an exaggeration if we claim that we will win every seat here, but I appeal to the people to vote for us and be part of the coming Left Front government.”
Trinamool slogan
Referring to the Trinamool Congress' slogan for a “change” in the State, Mr. Deb told the people of Purba Medinipur: “You have already effected a change here and handed over a lot of power to the Trinamool Congress. But what have they done with the power you have given them?”
Purba Medinipur and South 24 Parganas are the only districts where the Zilla Parishad is run by the Trinamool after the 2008 panchayat elections. The Trinamool made a clean sweep in the two Lok Sabha constituencies in Purba Medinipur, maintaining a lead in all the 16 Assembly segments there during the 2009 polls.
Referring to the 2007 violence in Nandigram, Mr. Deb said, “There has been a terrible incident followed by a lot of bloodshed here.” He held Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee responsible for the killings there.
“What happened was very unfortunate, but who is responsible for it? Instead of expressing her differences with the government over the proposed projects, Ms. Banerjee led a movement by blocking roads and cutting down forests and shooting at the police,” Mr. Deb said, adding it was only natural that the police retaliated.
Mr. Deb pointed to the series of projects proposed for the region but all stalled because of the Trinamool's obstinacy to oppose the CPI(M) on every project, stating it was the poor who lost out. “Based on this kind of politics, Mamata Banerjee wants to become Chief Minister.”
Mr. Deb said that if returned to power, the Left Front's first priority would be to restore peace in the State.
Exuding confidence that the Left Front would secure a majority of seats even if it did not win any in Purba Medinipur, Mr. Deb jokingly suggested that the Left might loan a couple of MLAs to the Trinamool, but still it “has no chance of coming to power.”
