The Hindu : National : Mamata uses railway function to attack CPI(M)

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National

Mamata uses railway function to attack CPI(M)

Staff Reporter

KOLKATA: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee used yet another official function of the Railways held in in West Bengal's Nadia district on Tuesday to launch an attack on the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

Invoking the Ma, Mati, Manus (mother, land and the people) slogan of the Trinamool Congress, Ms. Banerjee expressed confidence of winning in the Assembly polls next year and bringing industrial development to the State.

“There is no use in spreading lies and false propaganda,” she warned the CPI(M).

After assuming charge in 2009, , Ms. Banerjee said that she will desist from making political statements at official functions, and not comment on political matters. But with election drawing closer, she has been using these functions to launch criticism on the ruling party.

She laid the foundation stone for a new railway line in Krishnanagar station between Nabadwip Ghat and Nabadwip Dham and inaugurated the gauge conversion between Krishnanagar and Nabadwip Ghat. She also announced a slew of projects for the region at the function.

Land acquisition

On local resistance against land acquisition for some projects, Ms. Banerjee asserted that she was against forcible acquisition.

“I do not believe in fighting with guns and bullets. It is you [CPI(M)] who have tried to do so in Singur and Nandigram,” she said.

She said her offer of setting up a coach factory on 600 acres at the controversial site still stands.

Stating that the backlog in recruitment of nearly 1.67 lakh railway personnel and additional 60,000 new recruitments will be cleared in the coming months, Ms. Banerjee said that she had not been the railway Minister for the past ten years.

“But you [the CPI(M)] were with the Centre. Why didn't you do something about these vacancies then,” Ms. Banerjee asked.

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