Kolkata, Nov 23: The ruling Left Front in West
Bengal on Monday accused main opposition Trinamool Congress of
having links with Maoists, a charge which the latter said was
made by the government as it could not hide its failure.
LF chief whip Syed Mohammad Masiha alleged that the
Trinamool was trying to help Maoists and said Left MLAs have
been instructed to expose TC on the floor of the assembly.
Senior Trinamool leader Partha Chatterjee, who is the
Leader of the Opposition, told reporters here later that the
government should define who Maoists were.
"Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee himself is a
Maoist as he reads Maoist literature. Let the government
identify who are the Maoists. I asked the chief minister the
same question on the floor of the house earlier," Chatterjee
said.
It was easy to attack the Opposition but by merely
raising an allegation the state government could not hide its
failures, be it in Singur, Nandigram and Lalgarh, Chatterjee
said, adding the government will have to solve the problems.
By dubbing tribals as Maoists, he said, the state
government was trying to curb their democratic rights in
Lalgarh in West Midnapore district. The tribals were agitating
against alleged police excesses by blocking roads.
Congress Legislature Party leader Manas Bhunia also
dubbed Masiha's allegation as 'bogus' and claimed that former
CPI-M cadre have joined the Maoists.
He said that Maoists were taking advantage of the
deprivation of the tribals under prolonged LF rule in the
state. Earlier, Masih said "the role of the Trinamool is
quite clear with statements of its leaders supporting the
movement at Lalgarh".
He claimed that the opposition wanted to destabilise
law and order to yield political dividend ahead of the coming
Lok Sabha elections.
"We shall use this democratic institution (House) to
fight the move by the opposition parties active in instigating
violence in various parts of the state," Masih said.
Several non-official motions including one on the
November 2 attack on the convoy of the chief minister, one on
attempt to create anarchy in the state by destabilising law
and order and another on the need to expedite
industrialisation in the state, would be brought, he said.
Bureau Report
First Published: Monday, November 24, 2008, 00:00