|
Kolkata, July, 3 : Chief Minister Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee said that Chhatradhar Mahato has provided an open
forum for Maoist activity in Lalgarh by forming the Sangram Committee
(Police Santrash Birodhi Janashadharaner Committee).
Participating in a budget discussion on his department (Home and
Personnel Administrative Reforms) in the Legislative Assembly on
Thursday, Mr. Bhattacharjee said: “Formally his name might
not be on the [Maoist] organisation’s list, but by forming
the Sangram Committee, he has provided an open-forum for Maoist
activity in Lalgarh and its surrounding areas.”
He was replying to a point raised by the leader of the Congress
Legislative Party Manas Bhunia, on the Home Secretary’s statement
that Mr. Mahato was not a Maoist.
“While I do not think it is appropriate to take names of officials
in the floor of the Assembly, I would like to mention in this context
that the government has said that he will be arrested once he is
found,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said. The police were now looking
for him.
He added that the Trinamool Congress has been very closely involved
with the Maoists. “They are intertwined. They [TC and Maoists]
were involved in Nandigram, in Khejuri and in Lalgarh – but
they [TC] are not Maoists.” Similarly, the Congress has involved
Chhatradhar Mahato in their relief operations by distributing rice,
but “that does not mean that one can label the Congress as
Maoists,” Mr. Bhattacharjee said to buttress his argument.
He said that the sources of strength and support for the Maoists
were in Jharkhand where they have two training camps. “Where
are their arms, their explosives coming from?” Mr. Bhattacharjee
asked saying that the Maoists had seized the opportunity provided
by Jharkhand.
Following the operations in West Bengal, the Maoists are trying
to flee to Jharkhand, he said. “We are trying to seal the exit
points but there are many dense forests and we cannot seal all those
exits,” he said.
In this context, he mentioned that while he had urged Home Minister
P. Chidambaram to launch the operation in Jharkhand too , he (Mr.
Chidambaram) had said that this was not possible during the monsoons
.
On the relief operations launched in Lalgarh after the operations,
Mr. Bhattacharjee said the people there are devastated.
“Ration shops, groceries are all closed and officials are
trying to provide relief.” He added that for over a year, all
sorts of activity – irrigation, forestry and road construction
had been brought to a standstill.
He said departmental secretaries were being sent to restore and
regain the people’s confidence .
After this a task force would look into implementing the development
projects formulated for that region.
|
