By IANS,
Kolkata : West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Sunday appealed to the opposition parties to come to the discussion table for finding a formula to stop the ongoing political violence in the state.
Describing as “very bad” the killing of three political activists at Nanur in Birbhum district Saturday, Bhattacharjee told media persons that the administration was working hard to stop the violence.
While West Bengal’s ruling Left Front claims that 210 of its workers have been killed in the past one year by Maoist guerrillas and political opponents, the main opposition party Trinamool Congress says 150 of its workers have been killed during the period.
“We are trying hard so that such things do not occur. The administration has clear directives on how to tackle such happenings. But the problem is that these things can’t be stopped only through administrative action,” Bhattacharjee said.
“I appeal to the opposition parties to come for discussions and find out why such things are happening in some of the districts. Let us try to solve the problem,” he said.
The chief minister said it was “unfortunate” that the opposition does not want to cooperate with the state administration.
“They don’t attend such discussions whenever they are held, irrespective of whether the parleys have been convened by the district or the state administration,” he added.
Bhattacharjee alleged that the Trinamool was trying to weaken the administration and police. “But I am alert,” he said.
West Bengal has witnessed a spate of political killings since last year’s Lok Sabha polls in which the Left Front was decimated by the opposition Trinamool Congress-Congress-Socialist Unity Centre of India alliance.
Among the districts most affected by clashes between the activists of Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, and Trinamool are East Midnapore, Hooghly, South 24 Parganas, Burdwan, Birbhum and North 24 Parganas.