'Trinamul, Maoists to blame for flare-up'-India-NEWS-The Times of India
15 March, 2007
NEW DELHI: The CPM on Wednesday adopted an aggressive stance on the violence in Nandigram in which 16 people died in police firing, blaming the Trinamul Congress and Maoists for the flare-up.
CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury said since the plan for SEZ in Nandigram had been put on hold and no land acquisition was taking place, the violence was engineered by Trinamul Congress and Maoists.
"It is a straightforward political battle and is not at all connected with land acquisition or SEZ. The challenge will be met with politically," Yechury said.
He added that the violence was unfortunate as there would be no land acquisition for the proposed chemical hub and SEZ without the consent of the people of Nandigram. However, Yechury stuck to Left Front government's push for industrialisation.
"Neither Trinamul nor the Congress can oppose industrialisation, nor can the Maoists have any justification as land was not being acquired. Therefore, the violence is purely to achieve political ends and it will be met politically," he said, adding that there would be some alterations in the Nandigram project and government would not force land acquisition.
Yechury also said that the SEZ at Nandigram was a Central decision.
"West Bengal government has informed the Centre that the decision of location will have to be in consonance with that of the state government's policy that consent of locals is a must for land acquisition," he said.
Giving a sequence of events, Yechury said armed gangs, mostly outsiders, were moving about freely in the area and around 3,000 local people had been "driven out of their homes" and were living in makeshift camps since January.
"As these outside elements faced stiff resistance while trying to enlist local support, they indulged in violence. That is how the violence began. They have stopped short of a civil war and armed gangs are moving around freely," he said.
He added that police was not allowed to enter parts of Nandigram since January.
He said the Trinamul and Congress banked on their "political rationale that as long as CPM leads the Bengal government, there would be no industrialisation". The Times of India
posted by Bimal 15.3.07,
