Left Front gets taste of woman power

With Mamata Banerjee beside her, AICC president Sonia Gandhi did not repeat the love-calls her senior party leaders had been making to the Left. Rather, on Monday, she preferred to keep alive her newly-formed friendship with the Trinamool Congress, by attacking the Left Front in West Bengal.

In her joint election meeting with Mamata at Lolgola, Murshidabad, their first in eight years, Sonia attacked the government on Singur, Nandigram and its failure to implement the development programmes for the poor and minorities.

 "The Left parties call themselves the saviours of the poor and the underprivileged, but at Singur and Nandigram people tell a different story," said Sonia, as Mamata nodded in agreement.

Sonia also criticised the CPI-M for its failure to provide job cards to people under the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. "Instead of implementing the central schemes for public welfare, the Left used the money for its party activities," Sonia said.

 The Congress chairperson knew that Murshidabad is minority-dominated and did not forget to play the card. "I know that the social and economic condition of minorities is poor in West Bengal. Nothing much has been done for them in the 32 years of Communist rule," she said.

She completed her 12-minute speech by thanking Mamata, "I am happy that Mamata is again with us."