Agartala: West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday attacked the Manik Sarkar government in Tripura over its "failures" and called upon the people to bring a 'Ma-Mati-Manush' government in the state.
Alleging that there has been no development in Tripura during the prolonged CPI(M)-rule, she said, "Manik babu (Tripura CM Manik Sarkar) did you set up a single hospital here in last 23 years? You get 90 percent central assistance. We set up 41 super speciality hospitals in Bengal in the last five years. What has the CPI-M done here?"
She claimed the people of Tripura go to West Bengal and elsewhere for treatment because "they don't get it here".
"You did nothing for the state. Only delivering lectures will not do anything," she said.
Banerjee said a people's government was formed in West Bengal after ousting the Left Front and another people's government would also come in Tripura.
"People have to come forward braving all fears," she said addressing her first meeting here organised by TMC's state unit.
"Time has come for CPI-M to leave the throne of power. Entire Bengal would be with you in your struggle to oust them (CPI-M) from power. We must oust this corrupt government in the 2018 elections," she said.
The TMC supremo raised the issue of "huge loan" taken by the previous Left Front government in West Bengal and said, "They had left a huge debt burden and we turned into a pauper by repaying that debt".
"Whatever I promised to you I will do for you and will never vacillate. We want development and good governance. All these would be possible if we can oust CPI-M from the helm of affairs," she said.
Banerjee alleged that a huge number of people are unemployed in Tripura, students are not getting proper education, health care for common people is in a shambles and price haver skyrocketed due to "bad governance".
"All this has happened due to bad governance here. I heard that a kg of potato is sold at a price of Rs 36-40. I am surprised what the Left Front government is doing here. In West Bengal if the price of potato goes above Rs 14 we arrange to sell it in fair price shops to stop black marketing," she added.
Banerjee said CPI-M was boasting it had brought rail up to Agartala but "the project was sanctioned when I was the union Minister for railways in 2010."
She said despite the huge debt burden in Bengal "we are distributing rice at Rs 2 per kg, giving stipends to girls and students, creating livelihood for the poor.
"There is no job, no work, no agricultural facilities, no university and no teacher (in Tripura). There is only loot, conspiracy, false assurance, no justice. So why should people vote them ?" she asked.
Banerjee said the day Sudip Roy Burman, the erstwhile leader of Opposition in Tripura, and some of his colleagues decided to quit Congress protesting against the party's alliance with CPI-M in West Bengal, it started paving the way for the ouster of CPI-M from the N-E state.
Roy Burman along with five other Congress MLAs had joined TMC after the Bengal Assembly polls and it became the main Opposition in Tripura.
Attacking BJP, she said "It is a useless party, which cannot do anything. We (TMC) had to give it full support to pass the GST bill in Parliament."
West Bengal ministers Firhad Hakim and Arup Biswas, MP Mukul Roy, and Tripura TMC leader Sudip Roy Burman also spoke at the rally.
