By IANS,
Kolkata : Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Sunday charged West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee with orchestrating attacks on her party supporters in Hooghly district and demanded his immediate arrest.
Banerjee, also the country’s railway minister, called up union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai claiming that since Sunday morning seven of her supporters had been injured – five had bullets wounds while two others were hit with sharp weapons – by “Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)-backed criminals”.
Police, however, said four people sustained injuries, of whom only one was a Trinamool worker while two others were businessmen. The other wounded was a CPI-M supporter.
“I have spoken to the union home secretary. Union Shipping Minister and our party leader Mukul Roy has briefed union Home Minister P. Chidambaram of the situation in areas around Arambagh sub-division,” Bannerjee sadid.
The CPI-M had called a shutdown in the area, protesting the killing of a party leader recently.
Violence broke out in the belt Sunday morning as Trinamool and CPI-M supporters hurled bombs and exchanged fire.
Banerjee alleged that Khanakul CPI-M MLA Bansi Badan Moitra had himself fired on her party supporters and led the attacks.
Giving a list of those injured, Banerjee claimed the victims belonged to the minority community and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
“I demand the arrest of the chief minister. He is patronizing such murderous attacks,” a fuming Banerjee told mediapersons at her residence. She added that her party favoured central intervention and dismissal of the state government.
Banerjee said while Roy would go to Arambagh, the party’s youth wing chief Subhendu Adhikari would proceed to Khanakul Monday. She herself would visit Khanakul Tuesday.
Banerjee said Trinamool activists would organise rallies throughout the state Monday against the “atrocities”.
“The situation is such that we could have called a 72-hour shutdown. But we know that development is stalled during shutdowns. So we are not taking that route,” she said.
The state has been witnessing clashes ever since the Lok Sabha polls, with parties indulging in violence for control of political turf.