Thaindian News

New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) The Congress Friday rejected the contention of Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) that Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s Amethi constituency was more backward than Purulia in West Bengal, saying that rural areas in the Left ruled state lacked in basic amenities.
“We don’t believe in that (CPI-M) statistics. The fact is that rural Bengal definitely lacks basic amenities,” Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said here.

Answering queries on CPI-M’s reaction to Rahul Gandhi’s reference to Purulia as a backward part of the country and existence of “two Bengals”, Ahmed said that conditions in rural Bengal were bad.

The CPI-M had come out with an editorial in its mouthpiece People’s Democracy, comparing Purulia with Amethi and Rae Bareli, the constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

It said the number of people below the poverty line in Purulia was 31 percent compared to 54 percent in Rae Bareli and Amethi.

Likewise, it said, Purulia fared better than Amethi and Rae Bareli vis-a-vis families with electricity, per capita expenditure and vaccinated children.

Ahmed said he did not know in what context the figures had been quoted by CPI-M.

Referring to the socio-economic status of minorities in West Bengal as mentioned in the Sachar panel report, Ahmed said they had poor representation in jobs.

“That’s why people have almost decided to throw out the government,” he said.