Bengal, Modi do not go hand in hand: Buddhadeb

Kolkata, April 25: Claiming that the "wave" surrounding BJP's prime ministerial nominee Narendra Modi was a creation of corporate houses, CPI-M politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Friday said the people of West Bengal would never support a man who is charging with a "sword in his hand".

"There is no Modi wave, rather it is a creation by the corporate houses who are using the media for their ends. Modi is only about the corporate houses and the RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) which does not believe in the constitution.

"Bengal and Modi do not go hand in hand. He is charging in with a sword in his hand. The people of Bengal will never make the mistake of voting for the BJP," Bhattacharjee said when he met the media at the Press Club here.

The former West Bengal chief minister also expressed concern over Modi's rally Thursday in Varanasi that was beamed on TV channels across the country on a day when 117 Lok Sabha constituencies in 12 states went to the polls.

"It is alarming to see how the corporates have been able to churn out such a gathering. It was unjust and inappropriate that the rally was telecast across the country on a poll day. The damage has been done, he said.

Bhattacharjee also ridiculed the much touted "Gujarat model of development", saying it was solely aimed at making the rich, richer.

"What more needs to be said when his own senior party colleague has disapproved the Gujarat model," said Bhattacharjee referring to BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi who had opined that the Gujarat model of development may not be applicable to every other state.

"It is all about corporate-led development where the sole aim is maximisation of profits and whoever comes in between, gets decimated. People do not aspire for a development which oils the already oiled," he said.

Talking about the issue of Gorkhaland and Darjeeling where the saffron party has aligned with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, Bhattacharjee asserted that "nobody had the power to take Darjeeling" outside Bengal.

He stressed that the Left parties in the country were endeavouring to notch up an anti-Congress, anti-BJP front. Bhattacharjee said their fight was not only to defeat the Congress but also to prevent the BJP from coming to power.

IANS