Former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee today slammed the Mamata Banerjee government for "non-performance" and wondered how it was still claiming to have completed "most of the jobs" in last two years.
"It is a sorry state-of-affairs in West Bengal due to non-functioning of the government in the state which is plagued by lawlessness and violence," Bhattacharjee told a CITU rally in this North 24-Parganas district town.
In a satirical tone, he said "it is being claimed that this government has completed all its work in last two years.
Do they know what is the job of the government?"
"False promises have been made to the Muslims by the Trinamool Congress government which boasts of generating employment for 10 lakh boys and girls. There has been no development worth the name in last two years of Trinamool rule. No road, no power plant," he said.
Bhattacharjee criticised the state government for not taking adequate steps to return the money of cheated Saradha investors. "I understand that 12 persons have already committed suicide as a fallout of the scam," he said.
The CPI(M) veteran said it is a matter of concern that Delhi has returned the anti-chit fund bill formulated by the state government on the ground it is full of mistakes.
Turning to the pre-panchayat poll violence, he said, "ruling party people have been attacking and forcibly withdrawing nomination papers of Left candidates which is unheard of."
"Our government conducted seven panchayat polls during the Left Front regime. But never such incidents of coercion had taken place," he said.
Bhattacharjee alleged that ruling Trinamool Congress had been solely responsible for mounting attacks on TV reporters at Barrackpore, near Kolkata.
He claimed that CPI(M)'s voting percentage in the Howrah Lok Sabha by-election -- though we lost -- had improved despite the fact that party workers were attacked, intimidated and driven out of the polling booths.