TMC targets Left, says they branded poor tribals Maoists

Hitting out at the Left Front, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Thursday said the Communists branded poor tribals as Maoists while their leaders became rich.

Speaking to mediapersons at Trinamool Bhavan in Kolkata, spokesperson Debu Tudu said, “The ‘Red Party’ (Left Front) has now turned saffron (BJP). They have started propaganda with the help of slander.”

He also claimed that people belonging to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the state benefitted through various schemes launched by the Mamata Banerjee government.

“Before 2011, people belonging to the Scheduled Tribes were starving. For 35 years, those who claimed to be the government of the poor brought no progress for the Scheduled Tribes. Before 2011, the economic situation was characterised by lack of people, hunger, illiteracy, non-development. On one hand, CPI(M) leaders enriched, at the same time the poor were branded as Maoists. Oppression, exploitation, torture and deprivation of the poor was rampant. After 2011, for the first time, the democratic rights of the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and indigenous people have been established in Bengal by creating a democratic environment in entire West Bengal, including Junglemahal,” Tudu said.

“There has been significant development for SCs, STs and tribals in Bengal… In the panchayat system of Bengal, 50% reservation has been given so that indigenous people can get representation. Employment has been generated through 100 days of work. The tribals have got their culture back. In these 10 years of the TMC government, we tribals have undergone social and economic changes,” Tudu, a tribal leader, said.

BJP cheated youths with false job promise: TMC

The TMC on Thursday fired a fresh salvo at the BJP government at the Centre accusing it of cheating the people with the promise of jobs to youths and spreading slander against its rival parties.

“The BJP government at the Central had promised to give jobs to 75 lakh youths, but now it has gone back on its promise and deceived the people of West Bengal. They had promised before the elections that if elected they would give Rs 15 lakh to everyone, but they did not give anything. They are just spreading slander. They are the government of cheats. The people will respond to this cheating,” TMC spokesperson Debu Tudu said.