Nandigram not to be election issue for Congress: Prithviraj

Agartala, Dec 3 (UNI) The Congress has taken a 'serious note' of the Nandigram violence but will not make it an issue in the coming assembly polls, AICC General Secretary Prithviraj Chouhan has said.

''Cadre based parties in general, and Leftists in particular, have learnt a lesson from the Nandigram episode and the move was possible only because of the CPI(M) which does not know the value of people,'' Mr Chouhan, the Minister of State (MoS) at the Prime Minister's Office(PMO), opined.

Before going back to Delhi after a two-day visit to Tripura last evening, Mr Chouhan said, ''forceful occupation of land and property is the tradition of the Leftists. But they did not have any idea of the people's mind in a developing country like India.'' Ruling out the possibility of making Nandigram an issue in the upcoming assembly elections in several states, including Tripura, he said the Congress always wanted development and practise of democracy in true spirit with the active participation of people but "Indians will never forget Nandigram".

On the Tripura election he said the Congress would fight unitedly against the ruling Left Front.

''Slow rate of development, unemployment and rampant corruption in public sectors will be the main issues in the coming election,'' he said adding the party was trying to forge an alliance with tribal based anti-left parties.

UNI