Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee has said that though her plan to address a rally on August 9 at Lalgarh in the Naxal-affected Paschim Medinipur district on August 9 still stands, the public meeting there will be a “non-political” event to be held on a “neutral platform.”
“It will not be held under the Trinamool Congress banner. I appeal to people from all walks of life, including the intelligentsia, to join the anti-terror platform… We need the cooperation of all to restore peace and democracy in the region… We want our agitation to be beyond political confines,” Ms. Banerjee said at a press conference here on Sunday.
She reiterated that none could stop the rally. “There had been obstructions [to holding rallies] earlier in Singur and Nandigram. But none can stop us. We will have to overcome all such obstructions.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told the Assembly last week that in view of the security situation in the Maoist-affected region, the government could not allow rallies there, though it had no objection to people taking out processions.
The day of the meeting at Lalgarh would be observed as ‘Save Democracy Day,' Ms. Banerjee said.
She again came down heavily on the joint security operations in the Maoist-affected region. “The Centre is providing all help but it [the State government] is keeping the Centre in the dark… In the name of the operations, arms are being provided to workers of the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Various atrocities are also being perpetrated against the local people,” she said.
“Any government should appeal for peace and try to bring the people into the mainstream in such troubled areas. But for the past year, there has been a suspension of democracy in the area by the government here.” Moreover, “the State has been flooded with arms coming from elsewhere…”
She accused the CPI(M) of having links with the Maoists. “Otherwise, how can one explain that the Maoists have been active in areas where the CPI(M) has been winning elections?” she asked. “The call for a vote boycott by the Maoists just before the last Lok Sabha elections helped the CPI(M) win in the areas where the call had been given.”
She accused the CPI(M) of “misusing the name” of the Maoist-backed Police Santrash Birodhi Janashadharaner Committee. “An inquiry should be ordered into this.”
