Seth-Raj spat: Centre serves notice to Buddhadeb govt

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Signalling that signs of a strain in Congress-Left relationship was getting sharper, the Centre on Monday slapped a notice to the Buddhadeb government in West Bengal seeking a detailed report of the incident at Nandigram involving a spat between a senior CRPF official and a CPM member of Parliament.

The move by the Centre to pull up the West Bengal government comes in the wake of rising criticism by the Left Front of the Manmohan Singh regime’s policies on the price front as well as the nuclear deal.

Last week, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya directly took on the Prime Minister, asserting that he had ‘‘failed on all fronts’’. Over the last couple of months, the Left has been sharply critical of the Centre’s inability to curb rising inflation.

In this backdrop, the union home ministry’s move to seek a detailed report from the West Bengal government on the controversy relating to conducting of panchayat polls in Nandigram is being viewed as significant. The reports have been sought in the view of reported telephonic spat between CPI-M MP Lakshman Seth and CRPF DIG Alok Raj over the jurisdictional issue in trouble-torn Nandigram.

During the heated telephonic conversation telecast on a newschannel, Seth accused Raj of ‘‘exceeding his brief’’ by moving around without informing the local police. The CPM MP virtually ordered Raj to stay put in his camp, which was ignored by the officer who said he could not be directed by the member of Parliament.

‘‘We have asked them (West Bengal government and CRPF) to send us their respective detailed reports. Let the reports come. Let us study them and after that we will issue appropriate directives,’’ Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta said.

The senior CRPF officer has also been accused of molestations by two women CPI(M) cadre members, a charge which he has denied. The CRPF, which has alleged that its officers and personnel are being ‘‘deliberately victimised’’ in the state, too has been asked to send its report at the earliest possible time. In its representation to Union home secretary, the CRPF argued that such incidents would not augur well for the personnel, who were diligently performing their duties in the area to maintain peace.

Once the reports reach to the ministry, it is likely that Gupta will hold a high-level meeting with his senior colleagues and take stock of the situation in Nandigram.