The CPM said on Saturday that industries had died and corruption had taken deep roots under the Trinamool Congress regime in Bengal, and the BJP was busy dividing the nation on communal lines.

Minakshi Mukherjee, a state committee member of the CPM, alleged that Trinamool was an agent of the BJP, and the two parties were working in tandem to undermine the constitutional rights of the people.

“Trinamool has indulged in rampant corruption. Industries in the state have collapsed during its rule, forcing people to migrate to other states and even abroad for a livelihood. Families affected by river erosion are living on embankments because of administrative apathy,” she said.

Mukherjee was addressing a public meeting at Rathbari More, a prominent crossing in Malda town. Traffic was blocked on the Malda-Raiganj state highway because of
the meeting.

“On the other hand, the BJP is busy dividing the country in the name of religion, caste, language, and creed. These two parties (Trinamool and the BJP) are two sides of the same coin,” added Mukherjee, who called upon people to reject both parties.

Other CPM leaders, including Shatarup Ghosh, Zamir Molla, and Sumit Dey, also spoke, attacking the BJP and Trinamool in similar terms.

CPM state secretary Md Salim launched a broadside against the Malda district administration for not granting permission to his party to hold the public meeting on two prominent grounds in the town. It was a deliberate attempt by the administration to foil the meeting, which was meant to present the CPM’s 14-point pro-people demands,
he alleged.

“A section of bureaucrats and police officers is working at the behest of Trinamool. They left no stone unturned to prevent this public meeting. But the massive gathering here proves the spirit of CPM supporters and their determination to uproot Trinamool from the state and the BJP from the Centre,” Salim said.

The speakers claimed that Brindabani Ground, which had historically hosted major political rallies addressed by leaders such as Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Jagjivan Ram, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Jyoti Basu, and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, was being denied to the CPM at the behest of the
ruling Trinamool.

CPM workers erected a dais at Rathbari More and held the meeting.

After the meeting, the Left leaders and the workers took out a procession that ended at Foara More, another crossing in the town.