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Go to people with heads bowed, Buddhadeb tells party workers

“LISTEN TO THE VOTERS”: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacherjee addressing an election rally in South 24 Parganas on Tuesday, his first rally after the announcement of Assembly polls in the State.

MAHESHTALA (West Bengal): Expressing a sense of urgency about rectifying the attitude of party workers and leaders towards the public, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee called for modesty among supporters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) at a rally in the Maheshtala area of South 24 Parganas district on Tuesday. He cautioned them against committing injustices against people as the Opposition was exploiting it in its campaign against the Left.

He was addressing his first election rally since the announcement of the Assembly poll schedule in the State.

“Threatening the people or oppressing them will never be acceptable. We will have to go to the people with our heads bowed, we shall have to hear what they have to say, we shall have to work for the people,” he said to an audience that reciprocated with thundering applause.

Breaking the CPI(M)'s silence on the January 7 firing that took place at Netai in Paschim Medinipur district where nine persons were killed, Mr. Bhattacharjee asserted, “Whether it is Netai [or any other incident], if a party leader or worker commits a wrong, they will not be allowed to go scot-free.”

Mr. Bhattacharjee said that many party leaders and workers had been dismissed for their misconduct.

“Do not commit any further wrongs against the people. It is being used by the enemy. Why has the Trinamool Congress been able to raise their head? It is because of our faults,” he warned.

“How did the Trinamool Congress get so many votes during the Lok Sabha and civic elections? It is not for any work done by Trinamool that the people have voted in their favour, it is for some faults committed by us that the people have turned away,” he said.

The Chief Minister was also critical of the Union Budget and the Railway budget presented recently in Parliament and said the Congress and the Trinamool Congress were parties serving the interest of the rich.

“There has been no word on how to combat the burning problem that is affecting everyone in the country – the rise in prices of essential commodities. There is no word on recovering the large sums of money stashed away in foreign bank accounts,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.

He said that earlier in the day he had written to Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee protesting the proposed 10 per cent excise duty to be imposed on ready made garments saying that it will be disastrous for the domestic textile industry.

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