Under sharp attack from all quarters including its own allies in the Left Front on the Nandigram issue, the CPI(M) on Monday turned its ire on the Trinamool Congress, accusing it of aligning with Maoists to create trouble in the area. ??Trinamool Congress have taken the help of Maoists to consolidate their hold in the area,?? CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat told reporters here at the end of a two day meeting of the party?s politburo.
The CPI(M) leader also sought endorsement from the UPA government on his claim, maintaining that central authorities too had confirmed Maoists presence in the area. ??The Prime Minister said last week that Maoists are the only threat to the country?s internal security. National security advisor MK Narayanan himself confirmed that the Maoists are perpetuating violence in the area,?? he added.
Karat?s insistence, however, does not seem to have cut much ice as political formations aligned themselves against the CPI(M) on the issue. The BJP is readying a high level nine-member NDA delegation led by leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha LK Advani that plans to visit Nandigram on Tuesday to take stock of the situation on the ground. The Congress too did not mince words in heaping abuse on the West Bengal government. However, it was the allies within the Left Front who were most critical, refusing to bite the bait that the CPI(M) leadership and cadre did not have anything to do with the fresh spate of violence in Nandigram.
The CPI(M) leadership here, however, ruled out any major differences with its allies with Karat maintaining that the Left front partners will be taken into confidence on the issue. When asked about the joint statement by the other Left parties which accused the other day that only the CPI(M) is responsible for fresh violence, he said that they must try to maintain the Left unity. ??We are the biggest party. We are conscious of our responsibility to maintain unity. If there is any problem from our side, we will make serious efforts (to rectify it). All the other parties will have to be conscious about their role in strengthening the unity of Left front,?? the CPI(M) boss said.
Karat claimed that the Nandigram happenings was the result of a turf war initiated by the Trinamool using undemocratic means as it had failed to win the confidence of the people democratically. He alleged that the Maoists had been used to drive out common people from Nandigram about two months ago and later consolidated their positions, preventing even the administration from entering the area.
??If anybody thinks that they can drive us out of that territory and create a parallel raj there, it will only create an uneasy situation. We have waited for 11 months. Even now 1,600 of our sympathisers are at refugee camps. The government is trying to restore peace,?? Karat told reporters.
Within the BJP, however, there seemed to be a difference of opinion on the party’s approach to Nandigram. While party chief Rajnath Singh demanded dismissal of the state government, senior leader LK Advani told reporters in Bangalore that he disfavoured use of Article 356 in West Bengal. The party is expected to focus on the issue in the coming winter session of parliament this week in its bid to embarrass the CPI(M) as well as the ruling UPA by highlighting differences on the subject.