Congress begins hunt for safe RS seat for Anand Sharma

NEW DELHI: For the next few months, commerce minister Anand Sharma may have to continue in the Union Cabinet without being a member of either House of Parliament.

The terms of Sharma and his Cabinet colleagues, defence minister A K Antony and sports minister M S Gill, as well as 11 other members of the Upper House run out in April. But as the Election Commission on Monday scheduled the elections for the 14 vacancies on March 26, Congress leadership was still exploring where to get Sharma's RS tenure extended.

Unlike in the cases of Antony and Gill who can get re-elected from their home states of Kerala and Punjab, Congress does not have enough strength in Himachal Pradesh -- the state the commerce minister hails from.

Congress does have the strength to get him elected from Assam -- one of the six states where biennial RS elections are due in March. However, it may not like to exercise that option for the commerce minister. Assam where the outsiders issue remains a volatile one already has a so-called outsider in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as one of its representatives in Rajya Sabha.

Sharma, who enjoys the confidence of the leadership, may have to wait till June when RS elections from Congress-ruled states Haryana and Maharashtra are due.

The March 26 polls will include the by-poll to fill up the vacancy caused by the death of SP veteran Janeshwar Mishra. This spells a gain of one seat for the BSP since by-elections are decided by majority.

Others who are retiring include Naresh Gujral, son of former prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral, who is likely to be backed by the Akali-BJP combine yet again, and former Union minister Ashwini Kumar who seems to be in with a chance.

Of the seats falling vacant, five are in Punjab, three in Kerala, two in Assam and one each in Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura.

Others who would be retiring are Silvius Condpan and Syeda Anwara Taimur (from Assam), Abdul Wahab Peeve and A Vijayaraghavan (Kerala), Khekiho Zhimomi (Nagaland), Matilal Sarkar (Tripura), Dharam Pal and Varinder Singh (Punjab). According to the schedule, the notifications would be issued on March 9. The last date for filing nominations would be on March 16 and the scrutiny the following day. The last date for withdrawal of nominations would be on March 19.

READ MORE - Congress begins hunt for safe RS seat for Anand Sharma

Congress 'bitter' over govt decision to export sugar

New Delhi: At a time when the taste of sugar has turned ‘bitter’ in the country amidst high prices of the commodity, the Central government’s decision to export 10,000 tonnes of sugar to the European Union (EU) has come in for criticism from all quarters.

Even the Congress party on Tuesday described the government’s decision to export the commodity as wrong.

What has baffled many is the fact that the decision came at a time when the ruling UPA government is desperately trying to bring down prices of the sweetener in the domestic market.

Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari told reporters that the export of sugar at a time when there’s shortage of the commodity in the country, was not right.

“If any such decision has been taken, then only concerned officials or Agriculture Minister and his Ministry will be able to give information regarding the same. However, if any such decision has indeed been taken then it cannot be termed right,” Tewari said.

The Central government had on Monday allowed the export of 10,000 tonnes of sugar to the EU. The DGFT has allocated a quantity of 10,000 tonnes of white or refined sugar for export to the EU for the fiscal 2009-10 (sugar season October 2009 - September 2010) through state-run trading firm Indian Sugar Exim Corporation.

Indian Sugar Exim Corporation, which is the designated agency for export of sugar to the EU, will export the commodity under a preferential quota agreement, a DGFT notice said.

Although, officially there in no ban on export of sugar, prior approval from authorities is required, which the Food Ministry is not granting since January 2009.

Sugar prices in India have been on the rise due to supply shortage. Sugar prices rose by 58.96 percent in January year-on-year.

The exported sugar will be received by the EU duty free, under a special concessions provided for after conclusion of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff.

READ MORE - Congress 'bitter' over govt decision to export sugar

Rahul meets FM ahead of Budget, tables proposals

New Delhi, Feb 13 (PTI) Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi has met Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and is believed to have made proposals aimed at giving thrust to National Rural Employment Guarantee Act in the General Budget.

Gandhi met Mukherjee at the Ministry of Finance on February 11, sources said.

He is understood to have given some proposals he wants to be incorporated in the Budget so that thrust is given to his his favourite NREG scheme, the flagship social development programme of the government.

Gandhi is also understood to have shared his views on Food Security Bill, social welfare schemes for tribals and the youth.

A week ago, Mukherjee had advised Congress Working Committee's members to give their suggestions on the budget.

The Budget will be tabled on February 26.

READ MORE - Rahul meets FM ahead of Budget, tables proposals

He sought permission to sleep under our roof on a charpai'

Manjari Mishra and Bipin Chand Agarwal,



JNU professor Sudha Pai, who has written an acclaimed book on the BSP and Uttar Pradesh, says she got a call from Rahul in 2004, seeking her permission to drop by. He came with just one security guard, but with a lot of reading on UP, she recalls. “He asked me a lot of questions – about the reasons for the Congress’s decline in UP, why caste and identity politics played such a big role there, about BSP, about the future of Congress and how it could be revived in the state.” Pai found Rahul sincere, genuinely interested and concerned

Exactly a year ago. "He seemed sincere, genuinely concerned and sympathetic," recalls the mother of five, and pauses. The gaggle of women around her start to giggle. "He was as fair as the gora sahib with him - as white as maida," adds Ramkali, an elderly woman, explaining the group's excitement. Rahul had arrived at this Dalit bustee, Semra Malin, with British foreign secretary David Miliband. The memories of January 15, 2009, are treasured by each villager, to be shared one day with their grandchildren. It was a Cinderella moment for this clutch of ramshackle huts flanking a ribbon-thin cobbled lane, where ruminating cattle jostle for space with humans and the air hangs heavy with the smell of rotting leaves, kerosene and cow dung. Shivkumari relives the "shock" when she was told that Rahul would be staying the night in her hut. The pigeon-coop sized room with no windows needed a lamp in the daytime. It didn't have a cot and Shivkumari didn't have a blanket for the guest. Her neighbours, who formed the bustee's self-help group (SHG), helped out. Two takhts (wooden bed) were brought in with bedding.

And then they prepared food - a prince's fare: "palak, soya ka saag, tur daal, rice, poori and kheer - the kind one gets to eat only at a wedding ." She was too shy to go before Rahul and Miliband and serve, but those who did, claimed, "Bhaiya needs to eat more…he is so lean."

Rahul wanted to know about Shivkumari, her life, family, her household economy. "I told him everything - about my husband's death two years ago, the loan, debt and sickly children. I wish I had something happy to narrate," her voice trails off. "Stop sniffling, sister," chips in a bubbly neighbour. "That heart-to-heart talk got you this," she says pointing to the half-constructed pucca room (the SHG's gift to Shivkumari after the visit) which looked totally incongruous with the rest of the thatched structure. "At least next winter will not be so harsh to your children," she says as the widow nods in agreement. "I pray for him the way I pray for my family, I hope he becomes a big leader and then comes back here again," says Shivkumari.

Some 20 km away in Pure Jawaharsingh, Sangrampur , Amarjeet too had his magic moment two years ago. Rahul came to this Dalit's hut unannounced. "Imagine a pandit (Brahmin) and a prince entering this place," he begins. The kutcha homestead has a prosperous look today with a new thatched roof. Sponsored by local Congressmen , another room has been added to it recently.

"We were all so nervous but he put everyone at ease in no time," says his wife Meena. Rahul, she says, loves children. "He asked my son, are you afraid of anyone and the little rascal told him 'policewale se darte hain' ," she happlily recounts. He was inquisitive about their education, school and grades, says Sunita, her sister-in-law . The best thing about Bhaiya, according to Amarjeet, was his patience. "He is a very good listener, although he does not speak much."

"He is very unassuming... Imagine, a high caste breaking bread with us," adds Amarjeet, his excitement rising. "He actually sought permission to sleep under our roof. We all watched in a trance as he climbed the takht and covered himself with the old blanket provided by me as though this is what he did every night."

In fact, so excited were Amarjeet and his two brothers that they tiptoed out after a while and spent the night outside, sitting by the fire. "We just could not sleep a wink that night," he admitted . His neighbour Ghanshyam, recalls, "What was surprising is that none of the gunmen accompanying Bhaiya used expletives even once. Yeh hota hai sohbat ka asar (this is what company does to you)!"

As goodwill for Bhaiyaji overflowed, Amarjeet declares: "The villagers are now waiting for Bhaiyaji to become the prime minister of not only India but of Amreeka and Cheen. They don't make young men like him anymore."

Just four months back, Rahul came to the obscure village of Tilhar in neighbouring Shravasti district. The 10-kilometer muddy stretch leading to this Dalit village has no electricity, no healthcare centre. There are just 11 hand pumps for a population of 700. But it now has hope. Virtually the impossible happened in September; anything can happen now.

"Nehruji ka parnaati hamar gaon me awa aur khais, pihis bhi, (The great grandson of Nehru not only came to our village, but ate with us too)," says 80-year-old Munni, described by some as the oldest resident of Tilhar.

Politically, Rahul's visit was planned to perfection . Aimed at winning the hearts of this largely Dalit community, the entire enterprise - talking of health, education, development, breaking bread with them, sleeping in a stringed cot under the sky - was a contrast to other politicians. Why, even the local MLA has not visited this village, let alone ministers.

"I still cannot believe how Rahul made me sit next to him and share the poori sabzi cooked by my mother. It was an incredible experience for people of the village, especially the Dalits," said Pasi.

If some changes are happening in Tilhar, it's not without a little help from Rahul. "The Centre launched a Rs 142-crore project for women. Only four districts of Uttar Pradesh were selected for the project and Shravasti was one of them. I am very sure that it was only because of Rahul's personal interest in Tilhar that Shravasti got chosen," said Suresh, a resident of Tilhar.

READ MORE - He sought permission to sleep under our roof on a charpai'

Rahul Gandhi articulates Nehruvian vision of modern India

By Amulya Ganguli

The first major intervention which Rahul Gandhi made in government policy was on the nuclear deal. But for his support, Manmohan Singh would not have been able to secure the party’s backing for it. In fact, the prime minister had virtually given up any hope when he said that life would not come to an end without the deal. That was after Sonia Gandhi had conceded that the communists had a point in their objections. Clearly, it was Rahul’s championing of the deal which ultimately won the day. What his initiative showed was that he was capable of guiding the party (and, therefore, the government) along the path chosen by him - and even in a direction which was not initially favoured by his mother. The same determination to set the agenda was also evident from his preference for the party to go it alone in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in the general elections. It was considered too daring a venture at first, but the unexpectedly good showing by the Congress in Uttar Pradesh where its tally of parliamentary seats jumped from nine to 21, demonstrated that Rahul’s reading of the popular mood was right. Since then, much of the young general secretary’s efforts have been directed at enabling the Congress to return to its golden days in the years immediately after independence when it towered over the Indian political scene like a colossus. The endeavour may not succeed, of course. Or it may take a long time to become reality. However, Rahul’s objectives may not relate solely to the question of turning the Congress into the Grand Old Party it once was in terms of seats in state assemblies and in parliament. An equally significant intention is to achieve this end by winning back the Muslim and Dalit votes in order to revive the old, unbeatable upper caste-Muslim-Dalit support base, which was the Congress’s forte. Why this combination collapsed is, of course, well known. First, the Muslims began drifting away during the Emergency of 1975-77 when they felt that they were being specifically targeted during the family planning drives orchestrated by Sanjay Gandhi. Then the exodus became more pronounced following the demolition of the Babri Masjid in 1992. While the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the nineties saw the upper castes turning to it in increasing numbers from a confused Congress, the appearance of a combative Dalit-oriented party like the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) led to the erosion of the Congress’s traditional influence on the community. True, some of Rahul’s efforts to resuscitate the old equations have been amateurish, as when he told a rally that the Babri Masjid would not have been demolished if a Nehru-Gandhi was at the head of the government. It is also undeniable that one of the reasons why the Muslims have been trickling back to the Congress is the failure of leaders like Lalu Prasad and Mulayam Singh Yadav to retain their trust because of their failures of governance. In this respect, BSP’s Mayawati has proved to be a more formidable opponent. Even then, the fact that Rahul’s forays into Dalit villages have unnerved her is evident from her somewhat tasteless comment that Rahul washed himself with a “special soap” after spending time with the Dalits. The crude jibe underlined her attempt to rekindle the old casteist prejudices for her own partisan purposes. But even more significant than these attempts by the young Congress leader to woo specific groups was the bold stand which he took against the rabble-rousing tactics and vandalism of the Shiv Sena in Mumbai, forcing the Congress-led government to act against the Sainiks after many years. As in the case of the nuclear deal, Rahul was overturning his party’s habit of mollycoddling the Sainiks in order to placate the Marathi vote bank. The Congress’s cynical cossetting of these parochial elements began in the 1960s with the propping up of the Shiv Sena leader, Bal Thackeray, for use against the communist trade unions, and in failing to take any substantive action against him and the Sainiks for involvement in the Mumbai riots of 1992-93 after the Babri Masjid demolition. More recently, the state government was not only seen to be “soft” on the Maharashtra Navnirman Samiti (MNS) despite its role in attacking Hindi-speaking taxi drivers from north India, but the administration also played its own parochial card by once saying that prospective drivers must know Marathi if they wanted their licences. It was only when Rahul made it clear during a visit to Mumbai - which he called Bombay perhaps to irritate Bal and Raj Thackeray - that he was dead against such localism that the government decided to crack down on the Sainiks by arresting more than 1,600 of them in connection with their protests against Shah Rukh Khan’s latest film, “My Name Is Khan”. What is clear from Rahul’s support for the nuclear deal, plans for reviving the party and firm stand against the Shiv Sena and the MNS is that he wants to take the Congress back to the days of his great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru, when it was a modern, secular party which stood for pluralism against the narrow-minded insular politics of the regional outfits. Amulya Ganguli is a political analyst. He can be reached at aganguli@mail.com

READ MORE - Rahul Gandhi articulates Nehruvian vision of modern India

Rahul Gandhi told to marry Dalit girl

Mumbai, Feb 10 :

Rattled by Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's highly successful ‘local train yatra’ in Mumbai, Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Tuesday fired a fresh salvo against him for calling Mumbai as ‘Bombay’ during his recent public meetings.

“During his speech here, Rahul Gandhi repeatedly called Mumbai as Bombay. Those who want to break Mumbai away from Maharashtra call Mumbai as Bombay,” Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece “Saamna.” The 39-year-old Rahul’s Mumbai visit was like the “funeral procession of Congress” taken out by Marathi people, Thackeray commented, ridiculing the massive police protection deployed by the Maharashtra government for the “Congress Yuvraj.” Thackeray also blasted the state’s minister of state for home Ramesh Bagwe, who was seen carrying Rahul’s shoes, apparently for safe-keeping, during the Congress leader’s visit here. “The minister should be ashamed to stoop so low,” the Sena chief said, telling him that “Rahul Gandhi is not Mahatma Gandhi so that his shoes should be held close to the heart.” The paper also targeted management guru Arundam Chaudhuri, who favoured converting Mumbai into a separate state or union territory, out of Maharashtra. Chaudhuri, Editor-in-Chief of ‘The Sunday Indian’, has said in an editorial in the latest issue of the magazine “Hats off to Shah Rukh Khan for standing his ground! It’s now time to end this hooliganism once and for all and make Mumbai a union territory!” The Sena mouthpiece quoted Chaudhuri’s words in its frontpage story and said he has “insulted Maharashtra by spewing such venom.” “Saamna” also reported that during a recent TV debate, Chaudhuri deliberately called Mumbai as Bombay. Last year, Chaudhuri’s IIPM roped in Shah Rukh Khan to host its annual quiz. Social revolution If all this was not enough, the Republican Party of India  leader Ramdas Athawale also jumped into the controversy and asked Rahul Gandhi to marry a Dalit girl and bring in a social revolution. “The casteism and social disharmony will not go away just by visiting Dalit colonies or shaking hands with Dalit people... Rahul should marry a Dalit girl to bring in a true social revolution. I shall ask Sonia Gandhi to select a Dalit girl for Rahul,” Athawale said at his party’s convention.

READ MORE - Rahul Gandhi told to marry Dalit girl

Old order changeth

A new recipe: Rahul Gandhi is a member of the FCG, headed by Veerappa Moily

Though major changes are likely only after in-party polls, the party has already introduced a few reforms

By Soni Mishra

The child is father of the man.
William Wordsworth

The grand old party, as it prepares to celebrate its 125th anniversary, is  getting down to conducting organisational elections this year. It has before it the model presented by the youth wings of the party, which under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi have overhauled their election process.
Rahul’s endeavours in the Youth Congress and the National Students’ Union of India to bring about democracy and do away with nomination culture have earned praise from Congress leaders. However, change will have to wait in the senior Congress.

The elections, which are scheduled to conclude on July 25, are set to  follow nomination culture, quite in contrast to the youth wings’ example. The party’s Future Challenges Group, headed by senior leader M. Veerappa Moily and which includes Rahul, has recommended major reforms.
The recommendations include structural changes, modification in membership norms and electoral changes. The group has also recommended major changes starting from the block level, such as transforming the Congress from a mass-based party into a cadre-based organisation.

It has recommended elections at all levels in the party, including the Congress Working Committee and the party presidency. However, the 124-page FCG report, which was submitted to party president Sonia Gandhi a year ago, will be discussed only after the elections.

The panel was entrusted with the task of suggesting party reforms and changes in its electoral strategy in the wake of its poor show in a string of Assembly elections in 2008. “The findings of the FCG will be discussed after the present organisational elections. There is hardly enough time to discuss them right now,” said AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh.

According to a senior leader, changes would have to be made in the party constitution. The report will be taken up by the CWC, following which the AICC will take it up for approval. The FCG recommendations will have to wait till the next party elections in 2013, said the leader. “By then, the party would also have observed how the YC and the NSUI have fared in their organisational elections,” he said.

“Rahul Gandhi is keen on in-party democracy and fair elections. The YC has engaged the services of [former Chief Election Commissioner] J.M. Lyngdoh and [former adviser to the Election Commission] K.G. Rao. The YC is going through a very fine process. A lot of young people are coming in. There was a closed-door set-up and one did not know how to become a member of the Congress. Rahul has opened up the party,” said the leader.

The polls in the youth wings were preceded by membership drives that were transparent and inclusive. The YC has now made provisions for adequate representation of Dalits, tribals and other backward classes.
“The idea behind elections in the YC is to bring in transparency and fairness in the selection process. Also, the leaders who have been elected are taken more seriously, as they have the numbers backing them up. We have also come up with a process to fix accountability on the office-bearers,” said YC leader Kuntal Krishna. “What is happening in the YC is a model for the seniors to follow.”

In-party elections weed out leaders who do not have mass support. Yet, there are those who feel polls are not necessary in a political party ,as there is a need to balance different groups and sections in the organisation. This is not possible in a set-up where all the posts are filled up through elections.
“Nomination is also a form of election. It also represents some form of an agreement over somebody’s name,” said a senior AICC leader. While large-scale changes in the election process will have to wait for some time, some reforms have already been brought about. To begin with, the party made an effort to get rid of bogus memberships. This is expected to bring down the number of members.

In the last organisational elections three years ago, the party had 3,79,15,927 primary members and 15,12,370 active members. In an effort to get rid of bogus memberships, photo ID cards will be given to the members and proof of residential address has been made mandatory. Details of members will be registered in an online database.

In the membership drive that got over on December 31, the party did away with two separate memberships—primary and active. Earlier, those workers who brought in 25 members could become active members. But that gave rise to a trend wherein fictitious names were produced to secure active membership.
The elections will take place in five phases, starting with publishing of the list of members and election of booth-level committees. Phase I is scheduled to be completed by April 30. Phase II would see election of the block-level executives by May 31 and Phase III would see election of the district committees by the end of June.

Phase IV will involve election of PCC presidents, vice-presidents, treasurer and executives, as also AICC members and the party president, by July 25. In all likelihood, Sonia will be elected unopposed. Following the election of the president, an AICC plenary will be held, where a new CWC will be elected.
In 1997, it was under the presidentship of Sitaram Kesri that elections were held in the party, including to the post of party president. Five years earlier, P.V. Narasimha Rao had attempted elections, including to the posts of the PCC chiefs in some states and also the CWC.

After the elections, he felt that the CWC did not give proper representation to all sections. He obtained the resignation of all the CWC members and reconstituted it.
The only one time when elections took place to the post of the party chief since Sonia took charge was in 2001, when she was challenged by Jitendra Prasada.
Change beckons the grand old party. But will it heed the call?

READ MORE - Old order changeth

Sangma is frustrated: Meghalaya Congress

Taking strong exception to senior NCP leader and former Speaker P A Sangma's comment that a prime minister should be a member from the Lok Sabha, Meghalaya Congress on Thursday said such remarks are an indication of his "frustration".

"His comments are an indication of extreme frustration. He has no other issue to rake up to get attention," senior Congress leader and deputy chief minister Mukul Sangma said.

The NCP leader was recently critical of the fact that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is not from the Lok Sabha.

"I am a strong believer of the parliamentary system of governance, but in the last several years, I have been a very disappointed man...For years Lok Sabha has failed to produce a prime minister," the former Lok Sabha Speaker had said.

Mukul Sangma said the NCP leader did not find any other issue to rake up.

"He has aired such an unreasonable and illogical remark to attract attention of public," the Congress leader added.

READ MORE - Sangma is frustrated: Meghalaya Congress

Congress at a loss to explain four CMs in Meghalaya

New Delhi: The Congress is at odds trying to provide a convincing explanation for having four chief ministers in Meghalaya. Party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi is usually adept at explaining most things, but on Monday even he was short of words. “I agree that the arrangement is a bit unusual. There is only one chief minister the other three just carry the rank,” he said.

Singhvi explained that the party had merely extended the existing practice of givingheads of corporations and commissions the status and rank of cabinet ministers. “There is only one chief executive of the state and he alone exercises the power and authority of the chief minister. The others only enjoy the perks and status,” he said.

According to party functionaries, the arrangement in Meghalaya was undertaken to ensure the loyalty and support of MLAs in a state notorious for bringing down governments and changing chief ministers at the drop of a hat.

“Governments there are known to have been brought down through defection. This is one way of ensuring the stability of the government, so we have adjusted them.”

Toppling games and splits have seen 21 governments in 38 years in Meghalaya.

The Congress was at pains to clarify that the arrangement was a “Meghalaya innovation” and unlikely to be repeated elsewhere. In fact, some of its leaders do not discount the possibility of somebody filing a PIL in the courts to seek redressal.

For close to a year, DD Lapang had two more legislators sharing his rank and status. After a January 28 notification, the state got a fourth ‘CM’. Friday Lyngdoh, the chief of the Congress’s state unit, joined two other ‘CMs’ — state planning board chairman Donkupar Roy and Meghalaya economic development council chief JD Rymbai — both from the United Democratic Party.

READ MORE - Congress at a loss to explain four CMs in Meghalaya

Babus as guvs, Cong leaders unhappy

Congressmen are an unhappy lot. The Raj Bhavans, seen until now as a sinecure for aging or retiring politicians, are increasingly being handed to former bureaucrats or retired military or police officials, killing the chances of a growing queue of party aspirants.

Of the 28 governors, 10 are former officials: ESL Narasimhan (Andhra Pradesh), BL Joshi (Uttar Pradesh), MK Narayanan (West Bengal), Shekhar Dutt (Chhattisgarh), NN Vohra (J&K), SS Sidhu (Goa), Joginder Jaswant Singh (Arunachal Pradesh), Gurbachan Jagat (Manipur), RS Mooshahary (Meghalaya) and BP Singh (Sikkim).

The list of bureaucrat/officers-turned-governors has been growing during UPA-II, with many of them handpicked to preside over states where the Congress needs to increase or consolidate its base.

READ MORE - Babus as guvs, Cong leaders unhappy

Congress flays Manik Sarkar

Agartala, Feb 1 : Leader of the Opposition in Tripura Assembly Ratan Lal Nath has criticised Chief Minister Manik Sarkar for his statement against former Congress Chief Ministers Sukhomoy Sengupta and Sachindra Lal Singha on January 30.

Addressing a gathering in remote Korbok of South Tripura, Mr Nath said Mr Sarkar had alleged that both the former Chief Ministers had never visited interior parts of the state and run the administration sitting in the capital, which he termed ''false and distortion of history''.

''They are the main architects of transformation of Tripura and all the development activities, including expansion of technical education, rubber cultivation, setting up ONGC and inception of public transport system, were started in their regime and Manik Sarkar is now enjoying the results,'' Mr Nath claimed.

He alleged that soon after attainment of statehood, the CPI(M) involved itself in criminal activities and instigated communal riots and these all had been well-recorded in history.

''Ahead of the ADC elections Mr Sarkar is trying to mislead the masses. He travels to remote villages only once a year by helicopter, but Sukhomoy Sengupta and Sachindra Lal Singha travelled frequently on foot and stayed with the tribal people and built the foundation of new Tripura,'' he stated.

He also alleged that Mr Sarkar was managing the state with central resources and in most of the cases his government failed to spend the allocated fund for development work.

READ MORE - Congress flays Manik Sarkar