Cong to steal a march on TMC in Junglemahal

26 November 2012

Mr Jairam Ramesh will lead the rally where the party’s 3 MoSs, Dr Manas Bhuniya and other party leaders are expected to be present
biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 26 NOV: A day before the Trinamul Congress’ rally in Junglemahal, the Pradesh Congress will hold a public rally at Lalgarh on 8 December to mark its presence in the Maoist hotbed, from where it will start campaign for the panchayat elections in early 2013.
Union minister Mr Jairam Ramesh will lead the rally where the party’s three Union ministers of state, state Congress leader Dr Manas Bhuniya and other party leaders are expected to be present.
The next day, the Trinamul Congress will hold a public rally there under the leadership of the party’s Tamluk MP, Mr Subhendu Adhikari, who is expected to focus on the fact that despite receiving no funds from the UPA-II government for the development of rural and semi-urban areas, the party has been proactive with its limited resources.
“The impact of UPA-II government’s policy to implement FDI in multi-brand retail would hit farmers and small rural traders. Our party will highlight this anti-people policy,” Mr Adhikari told The Statesman.
He said, “In Junglemahal, people had been suffering from Maoist menace for over three years. But, as soon as our party came to power, we have been able to bring peace to the entire area. Several development works are being implemented for the sake of tribal people”. Dr Bhuniya, however, said: “Kike Trinamul Congress, our party had also wanted a change in West Bengal. But, the Trinamul government is now working on the line of the CPI-M, which we are against. This should be stopped.”
Dr Bhuniya said in the Assembly elections Congress had contested just 65 seats in the state and only four in West Midnapore. “We couldn’t reach many places and this affected the party. In 1972, a similar problem arose when Siddhartha Shankar Ray decided to form an alliance with CPI. We don’t want a repeat. So at the panchayat, block and zilla parishad level, it is up to the local leadership to decide. The Pradesh Congress will help in whatever they choose,” he said in a Press conference here today.
“The government should immediately intervene and ensure right prices for their crops. The food and agriculture ministers should get their act together. What are they doing anyway when farmers across Bengal are suffering? Even in Junglemahal, there remains a gap in what is being said and what's being done,” he said.