Left has a history of being wrong: Manmohan

Kochi: Training his guns at the Left, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday said the Communists had made the wrong choice over many policies, from the Green Revolution to the Indo-US nuclear deal.

Addressing his first Lok Sabha election rally, the Prime Minister also accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala of not being enthusiastic in implementing the developmental projects cleared by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre.

He went on to say that the Communists had been on the wrong side of the street for decades.

"They did not participate in the Quit India movement. When our country got freedom, they said it was not true independence. When the Green Revolution took place, they said it was meant to favour foreign companies. They opposed the IT revolution. They also opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal and withdrew support (to my government). Time will one day judge their wisdom," he said.

Singh, who spoke in English with his speech translated into Malayalam, outlined what all his government had done for Kerala.

"I have taken special interest in developing Kerala since I came here to lay the foundation stone for the Valarpadom Container Terminal (VCT) in 2005. Then chief minister Oommen Chandy asked me to speed up development projects in the state. Since then I have cleared several projects," he said.

"I wished to dedicate the VCT early this year but the Left government did not do its job of acquiring the land," said Singh.

He asked the people to objectively assess whether any other central government had done so much for the state.

He charged the Left government in Kerala with making no effort to tap the huge funds from non-resident Keralites.

"We often ponder why neighbouring districts in nearby states have all become hubs for business activity but not Kerala. I am sorry to say that this is because of the wrong policies of the Left which are unfriendly for investment," he said.

"On behalf of the Congress and (its president) Sonia Gandhi, I request all of you to vote for the UDF (the Congress-led United Democratic Front) candidates," he said.

He said it was only the Congress that could ensure the country's progress, especially at a time of the economic downturn and when tackling terrorism had become a challenge.

Kerala goes to the polls on April 16.