By IANS,
Kolkata: Former Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee Saturday condemned the political violence in West Bengal and said murder of any person was “unfortunate”.
“Murder of any person is unfortunate. Can anybody say that violence is good?” Chatterjee told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.
At least nine people were killed and 12 wounded Jan 7 in violence triggered by assailants allegedly backed by the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) near Lalgarh area of West Midnapore district.
When asked what he felt about the recent visit of Election Commission officials to the state, Chatterjee said: “They have done their duty.”
“Who is impartial now a days? Are newspapers impartial? Is there any person who is impartial in true sense? Can you name a newspaper which is impartial,” said Chatterjee when asked whether the team was impartial.
The veteran leader also expressed sadness over the ongoing political violence in the state.
“What will I say regarding this violence? It is sad that after so many years of independence, we have to say that alienate violence from politics. Parliament is not working. I have not seen anybody protest against it.
“The base of democracy is Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha. Now a days, we see violence in college elections also. I have never seen in any newspaper an appeal to stop the violence,” said Chatterjee.