By IANS
Kolkata : West Bengal shut down amid arson and clashes in a 24-hour general strike called by the opposition parties as Nandigram returned to an uneasy peace with the entry of para-military forces after a week-long bloodbath between supporters and opponents of the ruling Marxists who sought to extend their control over the disputed region.
Along with the Congress and Trinamul Congress and Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a minor force in West Bengal, also called for a 48-hour shutdown.
“One company (comprising 100 personnel) of the CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) has gone to Nandigram where no violence was reported since morning, ” East Midnapore Superintendent of Police S.S.Panda told IANS.
The CRPF entered Nandigram around 3 p.m., raising hopes of a better law and order situation even as the opposition parties and social workers said the force would work under the influence of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led state government.
Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Monday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and all concerned to act to bring peace in Nandigram where the ruling CPI-M wrested control after launching a massive onslaught on the rival group with thousands fleeing their homes.
“I am knocking at all doors. I contacted the prime minister who is now in Moscow. I have spoken to union home secretary. I am trying to contact the union home minister,” Banerjee told a press conference at Tamluk in East Midnapore district where she visited the victims of violence in Nandigram.
Banerjee, who broke all barriers and rode on pillion of a motorcycle Sunday to reach Tamluk on way to Nandigram, “appealed to all” to act to protect Nandigram villagers.
“Each moment is very important. Everything is peaceful now in Nandigram then why are not we allowed there? And if I am not allowed then why not even media is allowed to go inside and cover. The peace in Nandigram is silence of graveyard?” said Banerjee.
“Even now armed CPI-M goons are moving around in Nandigram,” she alleged.
Social activist Medha Patkar Monday brushed aside a request of the West Bengal government not to visit Nandigram and left for the area with relief materials in the afternoon.
West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, who was attacked by the ruling CPI-M for his indictment of the state government on the Nandigram situation, Monday met communist patriarch Jyoti Basu and reposed faith in the veteran leader’s efforts to bring peace in the region.
Emerging out of Indira Bhavan, the residence of Basu in Salt Lake here, Gandhi said: “I appealed to Jyoti Basu to resume the efforts of peace, confidence and security in West Bengal as he (Basu) played a great role in restoring confidence earlier.”
Asked why he met Basu and not chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Gandhi said: “I will discuss (the issue) with the chief minister also.”
Gandhi Friday night termed the manner in which villages in Nandigram were recaptured by the CPI-M as “unlawful and unacceptable”, prompting the party to react and call him “partial”.
Meanwhile, buses were torched in Kolkata’s Moulali and in Durgapur of Burdwan district as the shutdown and “immobilisation programme” of the Trinamul Congress turned violent at places.
Several buses were stoned and damaged by the Congress supporters in Kolkata while clashes were reported from all over the state. Train passengers were stranded and several flights were cancelled.
The tremors of the Nandigram violence were felt at West Bengal information technology hub, Sector V in Salt Lake, as most companies either switched off their operations or transferred it elsewhere.
Wipro Technologies shut down their operations for the day while Tech Mahindra shifted their BPO operations for the next 48 hours to Noida, near Delhi.
“The shutdown has affected the state’s IT sector. There has been a mixed response in IT companies at Sector V in Salt Lake. In some offices, the attendance is very less,” West Bengal Information Technology (IT) principal secretary Siddharth told IANS.
Train services were affected as passengers of long-distance trains bound for Kolkata were stranded at various stations. Trains had stalled in various places in the state since morning, an Eastern Railway (ER) spokesperson said.
Air services were impacted too.
“The SpiceJet flight to Port Blair was cancelled and some other flights were affected too,” Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International (NSCBI) Airport Director V.K. Monga told IANS.
The intellectuals of Bengal, led by filmmakers like Aparna Sen, playwright Saoli Mitra, painter Shuvaprasanna, took to streets braving police action and have boycotted the onoing Kolkata Film Festival (KFF), a festival close to the culturally inclined Buddhadeb Bhattacharya.
They would take out a mega rally Tuesday to protest Nandigram and have urged all to join it without any political poster, flag or banner.
Violence in the area in East Midnapore district has claimed 34 lives since January, when the region flared up over proposed land acquisition for a special economic zone (SEZ). The state government scrapped the plan later in the face of stiff resistance.
However, a turf battle continues in Nandigram between the CPI-M and the BUPC (Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee) in the run-up to local body elections in May next year.