While the   BJP demanded president’s rule in West Bengal, Congress pointed fingers at “inefficiency” of the state  administration and a cornered CPM made a desperate attempt to prove that the violence was the handiwork of Maoists to “destabilise an elected government.”

BJP leader Sushma Swaraj said, directives to the state under Article 355 would not work. She insisted that president’s rule should be imposed. She asked, if 14 persons were killed by policemen, who were said to have opened fire in self defence, how was it possible that no securitymen were injured?

Amidst shouts of “shame, shame,” she alleged, though a large number of women had been raped in Nandigram, the state government had not taken any steps to punish the guilty.

Women’s commissions at the national and state level had not visited the spot to help the victims.

Swaraj demanded a resolution from the chair, condemning the violence in Nandigram. She said,  this had to be passed unanimously by the house.

Charging CPM leader Sitaram Yechury with adopting double standards, the she said, while he mediated with Maoists in Nepal, in India, he is talking differently, holding them responsible for the violence.

Countering the allegation, Yechury said Maoists in Nepal could not be equated with the Maoists in India. “Here also, if the Maoists shun violence, I am ready to hold talks with them,” he said. Yechury observed that even National Security Advisor M K Narayanan had said that Maoists were present in Nandigram. He squarely blamed the Centre for the delay in sending CRPF to the area to tackle the situation.

He also  retorted that BJP was demanding president’s rule, though only one-and-a-half blocks out of 341 blocks in West Bengal had been hit by violence.

“The political objective is destruction of CPM,” he said. He added that there was a “grand alliance” among Islamic fundamentalists on one hand and BJP, RSS on the other, TNC on one hand and foreign-funded NGOs on the other hand, as part of a “larger battle” to destabilise an elected government.