By IANS,
New Delhi : Sharpening its attack on Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress for “unleashing politics of terror” in West Bengal, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Thursday said the party, “in its urge to reap electoral benefits”, was “openly protecting and facilitating Maoist terror and violence in the state”.
“While Trinamool Congress is unleashing this politics of terror in its aim to capture power in the state, it is continuing to provide patronage and cover to the Maoists, who, in turn, continue their rampage against CPI-M activists,” an editorial in the latest issue of CPI-M mouthpiece People’s Democracy said.
“Since the Lok Sabha elections, nearly 200 CPI-M leaders and activists have been martyred by these Trinamool Congress and Maoist marauders acting in concert,” it said.
Referring to a statement by Banerjee Jan 9 in which she said “the centre has surrendered to the CPI-M by agreeing to launch the anti-Maoist offensive by the joint forces in Lalgarh”, the party said: “This is a stand that runs into direct contradiction with the prime minister and the union home minister’s repeated articulation that Maoist violence constitutes the gravest threat to India’s internal security.”
“How can the Congress continue with this untenable situation of having Trinamool Congress members in the very same cabinet presided over by prime minister? This is a question whose answer the country and the people need to know,” the editorial maintained.
According to the editorial, the people of West Bengal had, four decades ago, “courageously faced and defeated such anti-democratic anarchic forces and the politics of terror unleashed by an earlier avatar of the Maoists – the Naxalites”.
“The people of West Bengal had to pay a very heavy price. Unfortunately, West Bengal is being pushed into such a direction, once again. For the sake of protecting and strengthening Indian democracy and social harmony, such a diabolical agenda should not be allowed to succeed,” the editorial contended.