By IANS,
Kolkata : West Bengal’s main opposition party Trinamool Congress’ chief Mamata Banerjee Saturday said Prime Minister Monmohan Singh was concerned about the ongoing tribal agitation in the state and had assured her that the centre would look into the matter, if needed.
Banerjee was speaking to reporters aftert meeting Singh at the Raj Bhawan during his visit here.
“I told the prime minister how Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) cadres, along with the police, are launching armed attacks on the tribals in West Midnapore’s Lalgarh,” she said.
“I found his (prime minister’s) approach very positive and he told me that he would send a team to look into the matter, if needed,” Banerjee said.
Trouble erupted in the tribal-dominated areas of West Midnapore district earlier this week after the police arrested some school students and allegedly harassed tribal women in connection with the blast at Bhadutala
near Salboni, as Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and two union ministers were travelling to an event in the area Nov 2.
“We demand development for the backward tribal communities. And it falls under centre’s jurisdiction,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee said she informed the prime minister about a rally that would be taken out by the triabls in Bankura Sunday.
A seven-member team, led by the Trinamool chief that also included members of Primary Teachers’ Training Institutes (PTTIs), came to governor’s house at 7.15 p.m. to meet the prime minister. The meeting lasted for around half-an-hour.
Banerjee said she also raised the issue of jobless trained teachers of West Bengal with Singh.
“We also discussed the teachers’ issue and requested the prime minister to talk to the Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry for a solution. He also promised me saying he would talk to the ministry about the situation.
“I informed him about the problem of thousands of primary school teachers and those who had undergone PTTI courses and still waiting for jobs,” she said.
Banerjee said she informed the prime minister about the alleged “state sponsored terrorism” in Nandigram.
“Yesterday (Friday) one of our lady activists was assaulted by CPI-M cadres in Nandigram. The centre cannot keep quiet and watch this CPI-M atrocity in West Bengal. They should immediately step in and take adequate action to restore normalcy in these trouble-hit regions,” Banerjee said.