Jalpaiguri (WB): AICC General Secretary
Rahul Gandhi Wednesday asked party activists to strengthen the
party in West Bengal so that it could be a deciding factor in
the forthcoming elections and said he wanted an alliance with
the Trinamool Congress on honourable terms.
"You have to strengthen Congress so that it can be a
determining factor in the assembly elections in the state
scheduled next year," he said.
"We can extend our hand to Trinamool Congress, but we
cannot bow our head. (Hum hath bara sakte hai, lekin shir
jhuka nehi sakte)," Gandhi was quoted by a Youth Congress
leader who was present at the closed-door meeting, as having
said.
Addressing the Youth Congress workers in this North
Bengal town on the second day of his three-day visit in West
Bengal, he asked them to strenghten the party for an all-out
fight against the CPI-M.
He also assured the activists to make Congress a
movement-oriented party in the state and look into the
problems of tribals in the area.
The AICC general secretary said the Congress was serious
about forging an alliance with the Trinamool Congress before
the coming assembly elections.
The AICC general secretary said the Congress was serious
about forging an alliance with the Trinamool Congress before
the coming Assembly elections.
"Change is a must and the change is coming after the
assembly elections," Gandhi told the gathering.
Asked by YC workers about many disgruntled Congress
leaders joining the Trinamool Congress of late, Rahul replied
curtly, "Let them join."
Repeating the charges he had made earlier during his last
visit to the state on September five, Gandhi said that there
existed two Bengals.
One for the CPI-M in which the cadres could do anything
they want and another for the poor where there was no food and
shelter.
Earlier in an interaction with tribals in a sprawling
ground in the Jalpaiguri town, he asked those gathered to
narrate their problems.
Gandhi was told that the adivasis had not been included
in the BPL list nor had they been provided with tribal
certificates to define their status.
When he was told that the daily wage workers were not
getting the Rs 100 per day`s work under the Nehru Rojgar
Yogana scheme, Gandhi asked his secretary to contact the
Jalpaiguri district magistrate to know the actual picture.
The district magistrate was quoted by the secretary as
saying that there were no funds available.
When the Rural Development Secretary in the state
secretariat in Kolkata was contacted, he allegedly told
Gandhi`s secretary as saying that the government was not
interested in the scheme.
PTI
