Kolkata: Targeting Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee who is pitching for a political change in West Bengal, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Saturday said the state cannot be run in a "whimsical" way like the Railways is being run now.
"Railway is being run in a whimsical way. It cannot go on like this. With this kind of administration, the state cannot be administered," Bhattacharjee, who is leading the ruling Left Front in its bid to eighth consecutive win, said.
The two zilla parishads of East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas headed by TMC had failed to perform. "Does the state want this kind of administration?" he told a TV channel here.
In an obvious reference to Mamata's announcement of setting up a number of Railway projects in the state, he asked, "Where is the fund? Where is the detail project report?"
Ridiculing the performance of the six ministers of state at the Centre belonging to TMC, he said, "They can be termed as non-performing assets. They have not done anything for the state".
Referring to the Congress-TMC alliance in the state in the coming Assembly polls, Bhattacharjee said CPM knew that two parties would forge a tie.
"But politics is not arithmetic. Two and two may be zero in politics," he remarked and alleged that some 'foreign forces' wanted to stall the Left. He, however, did not elaborate.
Bhattacharjee said the CPM was undeterred by the slogan of change and had identified its mistakes. "We have learnt a lesson from our defeat in the last Lok Sabha poll. We have taken up a rectification drive and the process is on. We have cautioned our party workers not to meddle into everything."
The electorate, Bhattacharjee said, did not accept the Left parties' stand (of providing a third alternative) during the Lok Sabha election. "We have pinpointed where we had gone wrong and have taken corrective steps."
He attacked TMC for "supporting" the pension bill, deregulation of petrol and imposition of excise duty on branded garments.
"What is their (TMC's) role? They did not oppose it," he remarked and said CPM would oppose all anti-labour steps by the UPA government at the Centre.
TMC, he charged, had compromised with communalism by forming the government with BJP at the Centre even after the demolition of Babri masjid. "Where is the guarantee they (TMC) will not go with BJP again?"
Without naming Santilal Jain who was named TMC candidate from Jorasanko assembly constituency in the city and was later replaced, Bhattacharjee said, "He has links with RSS and was a karsevak. He is still in TMC."
Referring to Singur, he said the mistake of land acquisition committed there would not be repeated. The main intention of the government was to bring automobile industry to the state.
"We have to be more cautious about land acquisition, and as far as possible acquisition of fertile land has to be avoided. However, even after the Singur incident our (LF) government has acquired 8,100 acres and there was no problem."
He said that in Singur and Nandigram, TMC had launched a 'violent' campaign that land, mainly belonging to Muslims had been taken away although no land had been acquired in the latter.
The opposition had tried to embarrass the state government on the question of law and order, he said in an obvious reference to TMC.
Bhattacharjee said it was not correct to say that his government has become non-functional. "If that was so, how investment worth Rs 15,000 crore came to the state? IT industry has flourished, 99 per cent enrolment was recorded in primary schools, the state has topped in producing vegetables and has become self-sufficient in rice production. It would not have been possible if the government did not function."
He denied the charge that his government has become bankrupt and said there was scope for improvement in its financial performance.
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