Rahul Gandhi's statement describing Purulia as one of the country's most backward districts has irked the Left Front in West Bengal. But instead of saying that Gandhi is wrong, the Left Front has produced irrefutable proof -- two economic survey reports that rubbish his claims.

One of these reports is a district-level household survey by the Union health & family welfare ministry and the other is an independent report by Indicus Analytics -- and both show that Gandhi's constituency, Amethi, and his mother Sonia's constituency, Rai Bareli, are more backward than Purulia.

Quoting the two reports, a CPI(M) has issued a statement that said Rai Bareli and Amethi are not just behind Purulia, but also rank behind Kalahandi in Orissa in the development index. "The reports prove that Rahul Gandhi did not do the basic homework about his own constituency."

In its analysis, the CPI(M) has taken up 11 parameters, including the percentage of people below the poverty line, per head expenditure, employment, child deaths and literacy, among others, and measured Purulia against Amethi. Ten times out of 11, Purulia has been found to score higher.

"Even though Purulia has a bigger tribal population and more inaccessible areas, healthcare services are far better than Rai Bareli and Amethi," the CPI(M) said.

Source: DNA