Attacking the Mamata Banerjee government in West Bengal over a host of issues, the Congress here Tuesday said for the ruling Trinamool Congress, secularism was only a “political compulsion”.
Bengal Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury lunching the party manifesto for the state also claimed that Banerjee’s attacks on BJP prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi were a mere eyewash.
“The Trinamool is keeping its doors open for the BJP. She (Banerjee) has been attacking Modi because she doesn’t want to displease religious clerics who want her to attack him,” Chowdhury told media persons here.
“For Congress, secularism is ideology but for the Trinamool it’s a political compulsion to woo minorities. Attacking the BJP or Modi is her compulsion and a damage control measure,” he added.
Chowdhury also ridiculed the Banerjee government for its tall claims of development.
“This government has been making fake claims of development in the state where the actual scene is far away from what is being projected. In MGNREGA, the state is ranked 24 in the country with just 35 days of work when Mizoram has registered 87 mandays annually,” claimed Chowdhury.
The Bahrampur parliamentarian also claimed that so far Bengal has received only Rs.1,200 crore in industrial investment “contrary to the government claims of huge investments”.
He also rubbished Banerjee’s claims that the central government was denying Bengal a livelihood by taking away all its revenue and blamed it for the non-implementation of the Food Security Act in the state.
Chowdhury also denied the presence of any “Modi wave” in the state and dubbed Banerjee’s effort to stitch an alliance with her Tamil Nadu counterpart and AIADMK chief J.Jayalalitha as “opportunistic”.
“Banerjee owes her political career to Rajiv Gandhi and it is ironical that she is joining hands with a leader who is desperate to free Gandhi’s killers. It will be an alliance of two opportunistic leaders,” he added.
(IANS)