Congress and Trinamool Congress continued to exchange fire even as Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee attacked her former UPA big brother for its anti-people policies.
After daring Janpath to clamp Central rule in her State “and then see what we can do” the Trinamool supremo on Tuesday held the Congress responsible for ruining the country’s economy by bringing FDI in retail trade and deregulating petrol-lPG prices.
“We left the Government because they wanted to rob millions of small retailers of their livelihoods,” Banerjee said adding how the Centre has hiked the prices of lPG to the detriment of the common man. Though the Centre had increased the subsidised lPG ceiling from six to nine “they have attached conditions like showing PAN card, income certificate etc in order to deprive the common man from availing of the advantage of Government subsidy,” she told a poll rally at Howrah which was going to lok Sabha by-elections early next month.
“We came out of the UPA Government because we did not want to cheat the people like the Congress as they had voted us to power,” Banerjee said adding the CPI(M) had joined hands with the Congress to defeat the Trinamool in Bengal.
“There is a misconception that the Trinamool cannot win without the Congress but we have proved it time and again in the municipal polls that we can win without the Congress and this time also we will win,” she said listing how her Government had excelled in job creation and development “despite there was no cooperation from the Centre.”
The Centre did not restructure the debt taken by the left Front Government and “we have to give huge interests today, still we have managed to create lakhs of jobs, improving health care, set up new universities apart from minority development” she said.
Meanwhile, the Congress on Tuesday retaliated against Banerjee saying it was not the kind of outfit that demanded central rule at the drop of hat. “We are not the kind of party that demands Article 356 everyday,” PCC president Pradip Bhattacharya said adding such demands were made by the Trinamool Congress.
“Even if we make such demands we reinforce it with justifications,” Bhattacharya said retaliating to Banerjee’s Monday remarks against the Congress.