Congress say Left should change ideas of poverty alleviation

Agartala, Aug 9 (UNI) The Congress theoretician and spokesperson of Tripura Pradesh Congress Committee Ratan Chakraborty today asked the leftists to ''change their idea of poverty alleviation'' in the communist-ruled states of the country.

Addressing a public rally here, Mr Chakraborty suggested that Marxists should go with the conversion of class in lieu of class struggle, as it is the crux of poverty alleviation in developing countries like India.

Criticising the Left Front government in Tripura and West Bengal, Mr Chakraborty pointed out that the political change is the demand of time while good governance and good performance were the main criteria of democratic transformation.

''CPI(M) was never there for the poor people or development of the nation, they only criticised Mrs Indira Gandhiji's call for alleviation of poverty and Rajiv Gandhi's call for computerisation,'' Mr Chakraborty alleged.

''However, they realised their mistake after two decades when the Congress-ruled states had advanced far ahead by accepting these approaches,'' Mr Chakraborty said.

He lambasted Tripura and West Bengal governments for criticising the Congress government in Andhra Pradesh even after they paid compensation of Rs five lakh to each of the victims' families in Khammam district after the police firing on farmers.

''Even as the leftists ignore the instances of Nandigram and Singur in West Bengal, they are trying to misinterpret the Khammam issue although the Reddy government had announced to give surplus agricultural land to eligible farmers,'' Mr Chakraborty said.

He appealed to the people to join the movement for political change in Tripura in the upcoming assembly elections slatted for early next year.

UNI