By IANS,
Kolkata : Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is demanding the deployment of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in West Bengal’s Nandigram region, which flared up last year over a land acquisition proposal for a special economic zone (SEZ).
“We demand CRPF deployment again in Nandigram. Our people are being attacked in Nandigram by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) cadres and the police are only standing by as mute spectators. I don’t know why the state government withdrew the paramilitary force from the trouble-prone region,” Banerjee said Sunday evening after emerging from a front meeting of Krishijami Jibon Jibika Raksha Committee (KJJRC) here.
“CPI-M cadres are again preparing a blueprint to attack Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) members,” she added.
The BUPC – a platform led by Trinamool Congress – violently opposed the state’s CPI-M led Left Front’s plans to set up a chemical hub at Nandigram in East Midnapore district. In the face of strident protests, the Front was forced to cancel the project.
Banerjee alleged that three people, including Abdus Samad – one of the leaders of the Nandigram anti-land acquisition movement, were beaten up by a group of CPI-M activists Sunday evening. She claimed they were admitted to Tomluk hospital in critical condition.
The CRPF had been deployed in Nandigram late last year after violent clashes, but the force was withdrawn following the panchayat elections in May.