By IANS,
Kolkata : Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Wednesday accused the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) of hatching a conspiracy to kill her, while the ruling Left Front said she was just trying to create fresh trouble in West Bengal’s Lalgarh region where she addressed tribals.
Banerjee attended the funeral of three tribals who died in a clash with CPI-M supporters Monday and told the people that the government did not want her to stand by them.
“The police have refused to give me protection at Lalgarh, saying there is a life threat. I’m sure this is a conspiracy of the CPI-M and the police to stop me from empathising with the tribals,” Banerjee told the tribals at Lalgarh in West Midnapore district, some 200 km from here.
“In fact, I am sure they are conspiring to murder me on the pretext of tribal unrest because when I came here (Lalgarh), I was welcomed by the tribals. It’s the CPI-M and the police who are culprits and murderers, not the tribals,” she said.
Three tribals were killed in a clash that broke out Tuesday between CPI-M activists and Maoist-backed tribals over the death of CPI-M leader Nandalal Pal. Pal was shot dead by suspected tribals Sunday at Lalgarh village in West Midnapore district, some 200 km from here.
“When the CPI-M-led Left Front visited Lalgarh twice, the police arranged for their safety. But when we, the principal opposition, want to go and talk to tribals, they refuse to give us protection!” Banerjee remarked.
Banerjee said nobody could prevent her from “visiting the houses of the oppressed and supporting them”.
“CPI-M is the enemy of the public, killing innocent people without any reason. Why shouldn’t the tribals rebel against the government?” Banerjee said.
Tribal groups blocked several roads in West Midnapore, protesting the death of the tribals.
Rubbishing allegations that tribals are being backed by Maoists, Banerjee said: “The CPI-M wants us to believe that all tribals are Maoists because they are demanding their democratic rights! Killing people is not a solution to the problem.”
Banerjee demanded Rs.500,000 compensation for gthe families of each of the three killed and Rs.300,000 for the two injured.
“The government will have to pay compensation. It is people’s money and the Left Front has no right to spend it on their own luxury,” Banerjee said.
Left Front chairman Biman Bose, meanwhile, said in Kolkata that the Trinamool Congress and Maoists were creating fresh trouble in Lalgarh.
“During daytime, tribals are agitating against the administration and the police under the political banner of Trinamool Congress and then some of them are operating as Maoist rebels at night,” Bose told a press conference here.
He said that Police Santras Birodhi Janajagaran Committee (anti-police atrocity committee) members, spearheading a movement in the Maoist-hit region, are causing trouble in three districts – Bankura, Purulia and West Midnapore.
Bose said Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Wednesday placed a report at the Left Front meeting, detailing the administrative steps being taken to resolve the Lalgarh impasse.
Criticising the Trinamool chief’s decision to visit Lalgarh, he said: “Banerjee is going there only to provoke tension in the troubled region.”
“The Left Front wants the tribals and the district administration to arrive at an amicable solution to the issue.”