Kolkata: The prevailing situation in West Bengal does not warrant invoking of Article 355 as demanded by the opposition, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the Assembly on Tuesday which witnessed noisy scenes over law and order situation in the state.
"There is no such situation in the state that the Centre has to invoke Article 355 here. They also know it. You try and convince the Centre," Bhattacharjee told Congress Legislature Party leader Manas Bhunia.
Bhunia demanded that the state be warned by the Centre under Article 355 during a discussion on an adjournment motion on deteriorating law and order moved by the opposition Trinamool Congress.
Reiterating that the Trinamool Congress had direct links with Maoists, Bhattacharjee said that for electoral gains the party had also joined hands with the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha which was demanding division of the state.
Bhattacharjee also accused the Trinamool Congress of terror and violence and blaming the CPI-M for it. "The people are watching everything."
Speaker HA Halim had to intervene during the heated exchanges between the treasury bench and Trinamool Congress members.
Bhattacharjee alleged that for electoral gains the Trinamool had joined hands with all secessionist groups in North Bengal, including the GJM for the Rajgunj and Kalchini Assembly by-elections.
Bhattacharjee said the situation in the state had to be seen in the perspective of other states. "I can't say there will not be any killing, abduction in the state. But, we should not be complacent."
Replying to Bhuniya's allegation that fundamental rights were being affected, he admitted that this was taking place in some areas, "but we are trying to ensure that it does not happen".
The Chief Minister took a dig at the Trinamool Congress, which has been staying away from all party meetings convened by the administration, saying it should take part to ease the situation.
Leader of the Opposition Partha Chatterjee should spell out whether his party would join such a meeting. "Only then will we come to know whether they want violence or peace," he said.
Replying to the motion, Chatterjee alleged that CPI-M was resorting to terror with help from a section of the police to retain political clout.
He claimed that the chief minister did not have the capacity to provide good governance and if he had any moral obligation, he should go.
The opposition leader pointed out that the CPI(M) had been defeated in successive election since the panchayat polls last year and asked how many people have been killed since then.
He said said the state government should take the help of the Centre to seize all illegal arms in the state.
Countering Bhattacharjee's charge of his party's association with seccessionist forces, he claimed that Bhattacharjee was the "fountainhead" of all such forces in the state.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, December 22, 2009, 17:43