Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi on Thursday gave a clarion call to end the CPI(M)-led Left Front government’s rule in Tripura in the assembly elections slated for 2013.
“Communists should be ousted from the state for their failure on all fronts,” he said at a public meeting at Kailasahar, north Tripura district headquarters, after arriving from Nagaland.

Taking note of the party’s organisational weakness in the CPI(M) bastion, he urged leaders and workers to reach out to people in rural areas.

Addressing nearly 30,000 people, he accused the “communists” of indulging in massive corruption, siphoning off public fund and failing to eradicate poverty in the state.

He said the UPA government was committed to implementing its flagship programmes for the poor and development of the country. He added money was not a problem, but it was not being utilised properly. “My father (former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi) used to say if Rs. 1 is sanctioned only 15 paisa reaches the people. I don’t think the situation has changed.”

Later, Gandhi flew to South Tripura district headquarters Udaipur for another meeting attended by an equally sizeable crowd.

He said the state’s tribals too had not benefited from communist rule. He added they were supposed to get 30% share in all spheres of development, but only 15% was reaching them.

Gandhi said there was a grave dearth of infrastructure in the state and even schools were not functioning properly.