Congress, Left slam Bengal Governor's assembly address

Kolkata, June 17 erming it "unusual and directionless", the Congress and Left Front on Friday criticised West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi's address to the inaugural session of the newly-elected assembly.

Expressing reservations about Tripathi's address, leader of the Left Front legislature party Sujon Chakraborty said democracy cannot flourish when issues concerning the masses don't find a place in assembly discussions.

"It is a very unusual speech for the fact that there is no mention of democracy which is under constant attack in the state. From price rise to unemployment to flight of industry, not a single issue concerning the people of the state found a mention in his speech," said Chakraborty.

Claiming "curfew has been imposed on democratic process in the state", the Communist Party of India-Marxist MLA also wondered why the governor did not give details of the state's quantum of debts.

Speaking in the same vein, Leader of Opposition Abdul Mannan said the Governor's "directionless" address was a reflection of the Trinamool Congress government.

"The governor's speech is indicative of the state government's apprehension about facing the reality. That is why there is neither any mention of issues concerning the people nor any roadmap to address them," said Mannan.

Congress leader Manas Bhunia expressed his reservation about the Governor's assertions that the electorate preferred good governance and sustained development by rejecting the politics of slander and vindictiveness in the recent assembly polls.

"In between 2011 and 2014, over 8,500 murders took place in the state. Under the Trinamool regime, over 38,000 cases of crime against women have been registered. Are these parameters of development?" asked Bhunia.

"The Governor's silence on the rise of communal divisive forces in the state is a big threat," added Bhunia, who alleged the BJP and the RSS' combined effort led to Trinamool's massive victory in the polls.

IANS