CPM forced to call Front meet over plan to rope in CRPF

The meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday.

The pressure for the Front meeting came from Forward Bloc state secretary Ashok Ghosh, who called up CPI(M) state secretary and Left Front chairman Biman Bose on Monday afternoon.

The Bloc’s argument is that, if the government calls in the CRPF to help the administration re-claim Nandigram from villagers opposed to land acquisition, then the Left Front government would be compared with the infamous Congress government led by Siddhartha Sankar Ray, which had requisitioned central paramilitary forces to tackle political turmoil in 1971.

The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) had earlier told the CPI(M) that any decision to call in the CRPF should be discussed by the entire Front.

The CPI(M) had refused, saying that it was ready to discuss it at separate bipartite meetings.

Following this, the RSP put pressure on the Bloc’s Ghosh, who has since May been a sort of common spokesperson since May for the Front partners who are opposed to the CPI(M) on land acquisition issues.

Kshiti Goswami, RSP leader and minister, said: “You know that we are opposed to the CRPF’s induction. We will register our stand at the meeting.”

CPI(M) leader Shyamal Chakraborty said: “The people of Nandigram want the CRPF. Some people, in the name of the Maoists and Trinamool Congress, are moving around there in armed gangs and making life hell for the common people.”

He said the CPI(M) wants the issue resolved via a political process. “But even now over 3,500 of our people (from Nandigram) are living in camps outside the area. Panchayat development work has stopped, and over Rs 8 crore is lying unspent.”

“When we try to send the police, the Opposition says state power is being used in the party’s interest, so we decided to call central forces,” he said.