Left all talk and no action, Rahul says

Baharampur: Speaking in the Communist bastion of West Bengal, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi yesterday asked people not to vote for the Left parties, who he said only indulge in big talk but do little for the poor.

"The Communist government here does not work for the poor, tribals and backward classes. They always indulge in tall talk but when it comes to implementation, they just do nothing," he said at a rally during his second campaign visit to the state for the Lok Sabha elections.

"The people of West Bengal will have to think and take their decision. It is incumbent on them which government they will choose at the centre. They also have to bring change, defeating the ruling Left government in the state."

Rahul Gandhi also accused the Communist government of not implementing the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) and failing to work for the development of the poor.

The NREGS guarantees 100 days work per family, but in West Bengal people only get 17 days of work, Gandhi said.

"I used to think the Communist government here works for the betterment of backward sections. But I am surprised to see the real situation," he said.

"They can only criticise the policies formulated by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government at the centre," he added.

"What type of a Communist government is this, which does not work for the poor?"

Gandhi was in Murshidabad district, about 250 km from the state capital Kolkata, to campaign for Congress candidate and local strongman Adhir Chowdhury who is contesting from the Baharampur Lok Sabha seat.

Earlier in the day, Gandhi visited Murshidabad constituency, which goes to polls in the next phase of Lok Sabha elections on May 7. Gandhi also spoke out against the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), accusing it of trying to divide the country into rich and poor.

"The NDA wants to divide the country into two - one comprising a chosen few and another with the common people and backward sections," he said, referring to the 'India Shining' campaign of the NDA during the 2004 elections.

"The NDA government forgot farmers, but we gave Rs700 billion to farmers [in loan waivers]. We have opened the bank doors for farmers who were unable to take loans as they were already indebted to banks," Gandhi said.