By IANS
Nandigram : While a measured West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee offered an olive branch to rivals in Nandigram Wednesday, his comrade and Left Front chairman Biman Bose said democracy was under attack in the area due to the actions of the anti-land acquisition group Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC).
“They wanted to stop the path of democracy by digging up roads (to prevent entry of police). It was an attack on democracy by a section of people who wanted to cut short the unity of the working class,” the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) state general secretary told a public gathering here, sharing the dais with the chief minister.
Bose asked supporters of the CPI-M to recognise their enemies and consolidate for a counter attack on them.
“I ask people to prepare for counter action so that no rival force can disturb the unity of poor people in West Bengal,” Bose said.
The villagers of Nandigram in the state’s East Midnapore district had dug up roads and cut down trees to block the entry of police in the area where violence flared up this January over a government proposal to acquire land for a chemical hub and a special economic zone (SEZ).
Measuring his words carefully during his visit to Nandigram after a gap of 11 months, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Wednesday talked of peace and people’s rule. He offered a development package for the region.
Thirty-five people have died altogether in Nandigram violence in the past one year with a fresh bout of violence unleashed in November after the CPI-M cadres allegedly recaptured their lost bases in the area by launching a massive onslaught on the BUPC.