JOIN USPC asks Bengal govt to reclaim Maoist-hit areas
Maintaining that situation has "deteriorated" in the state, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram told newspersons here that he had spoken to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and asked him that the government must move its forces to the troubled areas with clear instructions to tackle the situation.
The home minister said adequate central para-military forces had been rushed to the state. Tribals of West Midnapore and adjoining areas have been protesting police excesses on them in the wake of the landmine blast at Salboni which was believed to target the chief minister. Chidambaram said there was an impression that while one part of the government was willing to take action against the Maoists, another was worried about the fallout.
“The impression is that one side of the government is willing to take action, the other side of the government is worried about the consequences. Now, it is the judgment the Chief Minister must make. They must move the (security) forces to the affected areas and must reclaim that area which is now dominated by the Maoists,” he said.
The present toughing posture of the Centre against the Left-Front ruled state was in contrast to similar disturbances in Nandigram in 2007 when the UPA-government surviving with the outside support of the left parties sought to downplay the violence in the wake of protest against the industrial project in the district. The Centre’s stand reflects the changing political equations.
The CPM said the government was ready to talk to any tribal group that did not believe in violence to end the impasse in Lalgarh. “We are ready to talk to any tribal group which does not believe in violence,”CPM Polit Bureau member Brinda Karat said, adding that the state government was “treading cautiously as Maoists are using innocent tribals as human shields.”
Attacking Trinamool supremo Mamata Banerjee, she said she has “not uttered a single word of condemnation over the Lalgarh violence.” Her colleague Sitaram Yechury said the Trinamool was giving “cover and encouragement to these forces to operate in Bengal.”
Rule or quit: Cong
New Delhi, dhns: The Congress on Wednesday went ballistic against the Left Front government in West Bengal.
“If the Left Front is unable to run the affairs of West Bengal in accordance with the Constitutional mandate and duties, it should seriously consider stepping down,” said Congress spokesman Manish Tiwari.