Nandigram issue was hijacked by the ultra-Left forces and Jamat: Trinamul
12 January, 2007
Calcutta, Jan. 11: The Trinamul Congress leadership is looking for ways to drum up support on Nandigram as the party has been relegated to the background by forces like Jamat-e-Ulema Hind and the ultra-Leftists, who are mobilising public opinion against land acquisition.
Though the Trinamul Congress had been at the forefront of the Singur agitation, which provoked Mamata Banerjee to go on a 25-day fast, party insiders said they have not been able to get a toehold in Nandigram, where a large chunk of the population, including the minorities, has rallied around Jamat-e-Ulema Hind and the Naxalites.
Preoccupied with Singur, the Trinamul chief could not take up the cause of the Nandigram farmers, a section of party leaders believe.
The Trinamul Congress’s association with the BJP is also being discussed in the party as a “stumbling block’’ in spreading roots in Nandigram. This has prompted the leadership to think whether a blueprint should be prepared on ways to garner support in Nandigram.
Mamata has sought daily reports as she will have to visit Nandigram after being discharged from hospital, said a party MLA.
“We are in a bit of a problem as the minorities and the lower-caste people of Nandigram have not shown the response we expected. Moreover, the BJP factor is there. As we were a late starter, the issue was hijacked by the ultra-Left forces and Jamat,’’ said a senior Trinamul Congress MLA.
The question of Trinamul’s ties with the BJP has come to the fore as this has not gone down well with the minorities of the area, a Trinamul leader said. But leader of the Opposition, Partha Chatterjee, said Trinamul is gradually creating a base in Nandigram, Mahishadal and Khejuri, all Left strongholds.
In the case of Singur, five of the seven mouzas have a significant Trinamul presence. Party MLA Rabindranath Bhattacharyya represents the area.
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Labels: Bengal, Nandigram, News
posted by Bimal 12.1.07,
