New Delhi/Kolkata: The CPI-M government in West Bengal is fighting with its back to the wall after its three junior allies and prominent intellectuals in the state blamed it for the violence in Nandigram.
The CPI, Forward Bloc and RSP held an emergency meeting on Sunday and blamed the CPM for the situation in Nandigram, where at least 34 people have died since January in violence during agitations against proposed land acquisition for a Special Economic Zone (SEZ).
State PWD minister and senior RSP leader Kshiti Goswami said he had stopped attending office and would request his party to resign from the ministry to protest against the CPI-M's handling of the situation in Nandigram. "The CPI-M wants bloodshed just to recapture territory," Goswami alleged. “It’s the sole responsibility of the state government to protect people in Nandigram. I don't know if they are CPI-M or Trinamool activists. To me, they all are human beings.”
"I don't want to attend the office. I have communicated my decision to the party secretary and they would discuss in the party and take a decision. I have also decided not to use my official car," said Goswami.
The CPI-M’s Politburo met in Delhi but a senior party leader denied there was rift in the party. “Where are the cracks you are talking about? There is no divide (in the ruling Front),” Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said.
The party again criticised Bengal Governor Gopal Gandhi for “overstepping” his brief while commenting on Nandigram but said it would no seek his recall.
In Kolkata, the intelligentsia rallied behind a fasting Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar and other human rights activists as they boycotted a state-organised film festival and staged a blockade at Esplanade Sunday.
Several intellectuals were injured when police resorted to a baton-charge to prevent them from reaching Nandan, the venue of the Kolkata Film Festival. Filmmakers Aparna Sen and Rituparno Ghosh were prevented from taking out a protest rally, while another 30 intellectuals were arrested.
“People were peacefully protesting when they were fired at by the CPM cadres. An11-year-old boy was shot in his head. He’s okay now but he can't go home since his home in ashes,” said Aparna Sen.
Actress Moushumi Chatterjee said she would campaign for Nandigram victims in Mumbai and expose the CPI-M. Refusing to accept a Lifetime Award offered to her by a prominent Kolkata publication group, Chatterjee told IANS from Mumbai: "This is not the time to accept Lifetime Award from anybody. I think the CPI-M should instead start a 'life taking' award there."
Meanwhile, Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee made another attempt to reach on Nandigram. CPI-M men allegedly stopped her vehicle at Radhamonibazar after which she then rode the pillion of a motorcycle to reach the Tamluk hospital, where several people injured in Saturday's firing have been admitted.
(With inputs from IANS)
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