Miffed Congress attacks Left over Bengal food riots

NEW DELHI: Having been pushed to the corner by the Left on the issue of the Indo-US civil nuclear deal, the Congress on Monday took out its anger against the comrades by questioning their commitment to the poor by hitting out at the West Bengal government for the ongoing food riots in the Communist-ruled state. The party has also quoted figures to dispute the Opposition leader LK Advani’s charge against the UPA regime on the issue of minimum support price for paddy.

In an subtle reminder of the Left’s noisy protest against the nuclear deal and many other policy initiatives of the UPA regime, the AICC has said “all other slogans, shibboleths and controversies are secondary” compared to the basic food needs of the people of West Bengal.

“The food riots in West Bengal are a matter of serious concern . It is anachronism to even talk about of food riots in a country which is proud to flaunt a booming economy which rightfully seeks its true place n the community of nations. The food riots reflect the enormous deficiencies in the availability, distribution, pricing and regulatory systems in the state.

Those who profess concerns for the poorest of the poor should immediately set their own house in order. They have to urgently address the legitimate concerns of the deprived and the needy,” said the Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi.

The Congress move comes in the wake of many rural districts of West Bengal witnessing large scale social unrest and food riots following the breakdown of the PDS system. Maintaining that the concern of the Congress and the UPA regime was for the poor and that the Centre was all through ready to extend al facilities to address the crisis, the spokesperson said the state government can neither abdicate nor transfer its vital role and responsibility on the issue.

The AICC has also questioned the credibility of BJP leader LK Advani’s demand for a higher MSP for paddy by presenting a comparison of the UPA government’s initiative on this front with that of the previous NDA regime.