TMC, CPM blame game continues

7 January 2013

biswabrata goswami
MIDNAPORE, 7 JAN: In a show of strength, the Trinamul Congress today held a public rally at Chandipur in East Midnapore where the former chief minister and CPI-M politburo leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had addressed a rally at the same venue two days ago.
Throwing a challenge to the CPI-M, the Trinamul Congress MP Subhendu Adhikari, who was instrumental in the people’s movement against the erstwhile CPI-M’s decision on setting up a chemical hub at Nandigram in 2007, said: “Let the CPI-M capture a single seat of panchayat in the forthcoming panchayat polls here if they can”. At the gathering, he said: “Not a single inch of land will be provided for the CPI-M in the ensuing panchayat polls. They (the CPI-M cadres) will try to enter into the villages, but you will have to keep a close vigil on them. You will have to remember that all the CPI-M leaders are nothing but poisonous snakes.”
Replying to Mr Bhattacharjee’s allegation that the Trinamul Congress government is taking the state towards disaster, Mr Adhikari said: “The CPI-M is worried about our government’s performance towards implication of various development works across the state. And so they are trying to malign our government by framing false charges.” Referring to the CPI-M activities during the Nandigram violence in East Midnapore and Netai massacre in West Midnapore, he demanded that the CPI-M be banned immediately.
Before the meeting, Mr Adhikari went to Nandigram early today at around 4.30 am and took out a rally with candle sticks to commemorate the three martyrs who were killed at Bhangabera during the Nandigram violence in 2007.
Later, he went to Netai village in Lalgarh in West Midnapore where nine people were killed and 29 persons received bullet injuries in a firing from the top of a CPI-M leader’s house on 7 January, 2011.
While paying homage to the nine villagers who were killed in the firing, Mr Adhikari demanded that CBI investigation into the Netai and Nandigram violence should be completed at the earliest. “It was one of the heinous crimes committed by the CPI-M. But the CBI investigation is going at very slow pace which is unexpected. We are demanding immediate arrest of Susanta Ghosh and Dipak Sarkar and a supplementary charge-sheet against these two CPI-M leaders should be submitted before the court by the CBI”, he said.
Mr Adhikari said the family members of the martyrs in Nandigram have not received justice yet. Though, the High Court has instructed the CBI to conduct a probe into the killings and disappearances of people during the Nandigram violence in 2007 but the CBI is reluctant to conduct a probe into this matter. “If the CBI fails to begin an investigation immediately, the family members of the martyrs will begin a sit-in before the CBI office in Kolkata,” he said.
Expressing shock over the Delhi gang-rape incident, he claimed that a more shocking incident of similar magnitude took place in Nandigram few years ago, while referring to the Tapasi Malik murder case.