Development or death: Mamata

“The CPM leaders should know that the party is going to be buried in Burdwan in the next Assembly elections. Either there should be development,or there should be death,” said Banerjee,in a massive rally of over a lakh people,held at the venue where Bhattacharjee had addressed a rally on November 30.

The turnout is significant,considering that the CPM won 23 of the 26 seats of the district in the 2006 Assembly elections.

“How can the chief minister jibe at me? What has the CPM done for the state in the last 35 years?” Mamata said. “The Railways is bringing about a revolution in Bengal. The CPM just has to wait and watch the huge number of jobs which will be created in the next 2 years by the Railways. In five years,we will bring about more development than the CPM could have thought of in 35 years,” she said.

Sunday’s rally was organised to protest the deaths of Trinamool Congress workers Hasmat Mallik and Kader Molla,by police firing in Raina on December 1. Four others injured in the same clash are still hospitalised.

“During an emergency,the police is supposed to fire at the legs to stop people from escaping. But all these people have been shot at point bank range. This is illegal. If the OC of Raina police station is not arrested within 15 days,we are going to gherao the SP of Burdwan,” she said.

Talking about the escalating political violence in the state,Banerjee alleged that CPM leaders are controlling the police forces of the state and using them for their own turf war. “Every morning the leaders at Alimuddin Street (CPM headquarters) call the SPs of different districts and ask them to send forces — not to protect the people but to assist the harmads,” she said.

Banerjee threw an open challenge to CPM armed cadres,saying her dedicated cadres,who have won the trust of the Ma-mati-manush of the state without guns or black money,are ready to face the CPM goons anywhere,any day.

“Elections are very near. It is time to take a decision. Just a few months more and the evil force which have been killing people,especially tribals and scheduled castes all over the state,from the hilly district of Darjeeling to Purulia and Lalgarh,are going to be wiped away from the state,” she said.