Launching a scathing attack against the Left Front government, Union home minister P. Chidambaram on Monday said that West Bengal was the “worst governed” state. Mr Chidambaram, who was in the state to campaign for Congress candidates, blamed the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government for all the ills plaguing the state particularly for the “extremely bad” law and order and “precarious” financial situation.
“For too long we had a government that had neglected governance. West Bengal is among the worst-governed states in the country,” he added.
Repeating his old charge that the CPI(M) cadres had turned the state into a “killing field”, the Union home minister referred to his correspondence with Mr Bhattacharjee. “I lay the blame squarely at the door of the CPI(M) which actively encourages its cadres to procure arms and indulge in violence,” he added.
Mr Chidambaram had triggered a huge controversy when in his letter to the chief minister after the Netai massacre, he had used the word “harmads” to describe CPI(M)’s armed cadres. “Chief minister was in a state of denial but the bubble burst when Netai occurred,” he added.
Echoing Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee’s oft-repeated charge, Mr Chidambaram also describing Bengal as a “debt-stressed state.” Pointing out that in the past four-five years no state had taken an overdraft except Bengal which had taken overdraft seven times. “For 2011-2012 which has just begun, it has already taken an overdraft of `1,323 crore although there is a borrowing ceiling of `17,000 crore,” he added. Claiming that the fiscal position of the state was bad and its revenue deficit was worrisome, the Union home minister said that the present government was not in a position to improve the economic situation of the state.
“It will only make it worse. Only a new government with fresh thinking and fresh energy can restore financial health of West Bengal,” he added.
He not only claimed that the Trinamul Congress-Congress combine would come to power with an “overwhelming majority” but he also gave advance congratulations to the people of the state. Mr Chidambaram campaigned for Congress candidates in Canning East in North 24 Parganas and Garbeta and Keshpur in West Midnapore. The last two constituencies are in Maoist-affected Jangalmahal. He called upon the people to vote fearlessly.
“I will ask the Election Commission to deploy CRPF during and after the polling and even after counting to ensure your total security,” he added.