Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Friday asked the Home Minister to take
note of Trinamool Congress`s nexus with Maoists, after P
Chidambaram again pointed out that his query on armed cadre
taking upon themselves the duties of maintaining law and order
in the state remained unanswered.
"You are aware there is clinching evidence of the
encouragement and support that the Maoists are getting from
Trinamool Congress. Unfortunately, you have chosen not to
mention this problem in your letter," the chief minister said
in his reply to the two letters sent by Chidambaram yesterday.
Alleging that the Trinamool Congress was openly
organising public meetings with Maoists, Bhattacharjee said,
"it is a dangerous development of which serious note should be
taken by your ministry."
He said, "So far your suggestion to disarm and
demobilize armed cadre is concerned, I assure you that our
policy is to take appropriate administrative steps against all
armed groups who may try to disturb law and order."
On Chidamabaram`s contention that the figures provided
by the Home Ministry and that by the chief minister were in
broad agreement, Bhattacharjee said that deaths resulting from
political clashes in Maoist-hit areas clearly showed that
CPI(M) workers were killed in far greater number than
Trinamool supporters.
Deploring deaths in clashes, irrespective of political
affiliation, Bhattacharjee said violence was in no way
justified.
Stating that he was trying his best to put a stop to
such violence, he said "Unfortunately, TMC is not cooperating
with the administration in this effort and you are fully aware
of this."
Accepting Chidambaram`s invitation to visit Delhi,
Bhattacharjee said "I will try to go as early as possible to
meet you and discuss all the related issues."
The chief minister began his letter saying "I wanted
not to open all correspondences to the media, but to discuss
with you the problem when I meer you in Delhi.
"But as you have already released all your
correspondences before us to media, I feel compelled to write
further on the issues raised by you. I have noted the reasons
behind late arrival of the letter in my office, but I cannot
accept the deliberate leakage of the letter to the press."
On Chidambaram`s clarification that the word `harmad`
was not offensive and that he could use some other word
suggested by the chief minister, Bhattacharjee said "I am
sorry I cannot offer you any such word since I am unable to
accept your attitude towards Left Front workers in our state,,
and also your observation regarding failure of law and order
in certain areas."
Stating that while he shared Chidambaram`s anxiety on
the ground situation in Maoist affected areas, he said, "I
again assure that the situation is changing for the better.
"I told you earlier also when we met in Delhi that we
had restored normalcy in vast areas affected by Maoist
domination and the situastion has now further improved," the
letter said.
PTI
