Kolkata, Jan 13 (IANS): Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Sunday accused the West Bengal government of squandering money on self promotion instead of creating jobs.
"The constant refrain is all work has been done. Sometimes it is being said 90 percent of the work is complete. We ruled West Bengal for 34 years. But we could never think of saying such things," he told a CPI-M rally at Dum Dum.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has claimed time and again that her government had within 20 months of taking power completed 90 percent of the work it had set out to do in five years.
"Now it is being said 10 lakh people have been given jobs since the new government came to power. We are saying not even 2,000 people have got jobs," the Communist Party of India-Marxist leader said.
He launched a blistering attack on the government for "non-performance".
"Be it agriculture or industry, no development is taking place. Where is the state heading in industry and agriculture? Bengal has become like a graveyard. What is the future of the youths of our state?
"Since we were voted out, the state has not even gone a step forward. Instead, we find this government is only squandering crores of rupees on festivals and advertisements hailing its performance."
Bhattacharjee said the advertisements hid the reality.
"The jobs are only in advertisements, not in reality. I don't know of any other government which has spent so much money on advertisements. I never did that.
"Why should I splash my photographs in newspapers by spending public money?" he asked, without taking Mamata Banerjee's name.
Most government advertisements in newspapers include big photographs of the chief minister.
Bhattacharjee went on: "They are needlessly installing trident lamps in Kolkata. Now I hear there is a scam in this trident lamp project."
On the attack on CPI-M leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah, allegedly by Trinamool Congress activists, Bhattacharjee said it was no isolated case.
Assailing the government for poor law and order, he said that "lumpens are having a free run. Why? Because anti-socials are confident that nobody can touch them because their party is in power".