West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday issued a strong warning to the left-wing extremists not to interfere with the State's development process. “Killings and negotiations cannot happen simultaneously. You [Maoists] will have to decide what you want,” she told a political rally at Singur in Hooghly district.
When her party was in the Opposition, Ms. Banerjee had vehemently opposed the joint security operations in the Maoist-affected areas of Bankura, Purulia and Paschim Medinipur districts and the alleged human rights violations. But after the recent murders of three Trinamool Congress supporters by suspected Maoists, she expressed the view that they did not have the right to speak about rights violations.
“You speak of human rights. You question why people have been thrown in prison, why the police commit atrocities, why they are subjected to third degree…But killing someone by mutilating their face and binding their hands and feet – what kind of human rights is that?” Ms. Banerjee asked.
She said “there is no difference between Marxists and Maoists” and claimed that illegal arms, which had so far been held by cadres of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), were now passing into the hands of the left-wing extremists. They were together killing supporters of the Trinamool Congress, she charged.
Ms. Banerjee said that the Maoists had adopted a new strategy of generating funds from foreign countries.
“They have a front of a non-government organisation (NGO). They organise meetings and photographs of these meetings are circulated through the Internet – e-mails, Facebook and Twitter. Using these pictures, they then ask for funds from abroad. These funds are then channelled into creating more goons and buying weapons,” she said.
Ms. Banerjee said that the Maoists hide like “thieves, robbers and cowards” and then suddenly commit these murders, but will not be able to halt the process of development in the Jangalmahal region.
“How many people can you kill? Go ahead and commit your murders. See if you can stop my development initiatives,” she said. She said that human rights were “common for all” and the Maoists cannot continue killing people and yet expect negotiations to be held.
