By IANS,
Kolkata: Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Wednesday demanded an end to the joint security operation against Maoist rebels in the trouble-torn belt of Lalgarh in West Bengal.
“The joint operation should stop,” Banerjee said and emphasised the need for talks with Maoists to solve the issue.
She blamed West Bengal’s ruling Left Front major Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) for the recent violence in West Midnapore district’s Lalgarh, which had been virtually ruled by Maoists.
“There have neither been any development nor administrative activities in the region,” she said.
Banerjee alleged that the CPI-M was using the security operation by the joint forces of the central and state government for political reasons.
“The problem has to be resolved through discussions. Then only will peace be restored there,” said the main opposition leader of the state.
However, she also expressed her party’s opposition to ‘the politics of the gun’ followed by the Maoists.
“We don’t believe in the politics of killings,” she added.