On a day when West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee sought to reach out to the people of Nandigram, the BJP demanded that the Centre invoke Article 355 against the CPI(M)-led government in the state citing interference with the working of the CBI and the CRPF in the troubled area.

Accusing the state administration for making every attempt to ?frustrate? and ?demoralise? the CBI and CRPF, the party charged that the state administration and police were refusing to provide adequate assistance to the central agencies deployed in the troubled region. The BJP also charged the CPI(M) cadres of lodging false cases and complaints against the central agencies.

??Every attempt is being made to frustrate and demoralise these two agencies so that the gross crime of CPI(M) cadres goes unchecked and uninvestigated and the victims may not get any relief,?? BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad claimed.

Citing many complaints addressed to the President of India against the two central agencies, which had been faxed from Tamluk party office, Prasad said, ??These are serious issues of constitutional impropriety and need Centre?s immediate intervention.?? He demanded that prompt and fair investigation be carried out in all the cases to bring the culprits to the book.

??As both the CBI and the CRPF are central agencies, it is imperative that the government of India direct the state government under Article 355 of the Constitution that fair investigation be allowed to be done by the CBI unhindered and the CRPF be allowed to take all steps needed without fear,?? Prasad added.