Ally hits back: ‘Mamata stalling project as it is Cong initiative’

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's remarks on the "politics" over the proposed AIIMS-like hospital in Raiganj sparked sharp reactions from the state Congress.

"As chief minister, Mamata is supposed to get the land, and the central government will set up the AIIMS-like hospital here," said Pradeep Bhattacharya, West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee president.

Bhattacharya added that Mamata was citing the example of Singur, where she was standing by farmers who were unwilling to sell their land, but the situation in Raiganj was very different. "There is no question of unwilling farmers here. All the farmers here are willing to sell their land. They understand the policy of the central government. Mamata is playing dirty politics, which is very dangerous," he said, adding that the state should have a policy according to which land can be acquired for major projects.

Senior Congress leader Abdul Mannan said, "Mamata is very mean-minded. In the history of the state we have not had such a chief minister. This AIIMS project is the initiative of Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi and if it materialises, the Congress will get the credit, which Mamata does not want. First the CPM opposed the project, now it is the Trinamool. Mamata even wrote to the Prime Minister saying that the project is not a possibility," Mannan alleged.

He also said that Mamata did not pay heed to the interests of the state while announcing several projects aimed at attracting votes in the forthcoming panchayat poll. "The hospital and road projects, which she has announced, do not have any budgetary allocation. With a couple of Muslim clerics by her side, she announces several projects for the minority to get their votes. The Centre has a special fund for the minorities, which she is misusing here," he said.

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