Bose trashes team,dares Centre on Art 356

A few hours after the team led by the additional secretary of the Union Home Ministry,D R S Chowdhury,met state chief secretary and other senior officials,Left Front chairman Biman Bose dared the Union government to invoke Article 356,saying “the state is ready to accept the challenge”.

Bose hinted the state government will not allow the team to visit the disturbed zones,including Khanakul in Hooghly district and Lalgarh in West Midnapore.

“The Central team’s visit to the disturbed zones is unnecessary. There is no need to visit there without the consent from the state government,” Bose told reporters as he emerged from a Left Front meeting at the Alimuddin Street state CPM headquarters.

Bose also asked a Left Front delegation to meet the team at the Writers’ Buildings and submit a memorandum to it. Later,a 10-member Left Front delegation led by former CPM MP Md Salim met the Central team and handed over to it a CD and other documents purportedly establishing the nexus between Trinamool Congress and the Maoists.

“It is the Trinamool Congress which is creating trouble in the state since the Lok Sabha elections. We have given the Central team a document to justify our claim about the nexus between the Trinamool and the outlawed CPI (Maoist),” Salim said.

Interestingly,to avoid any controversy,the ruling CPM did not involve the Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as it made its moves to counter the Central team. Bhattacharjee skipped the Front’s meeting held today.

Alleging that Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee had conspired against the state,Bose hit out at the UPA government for not making clear the purpose and role of the Central team’s visit to the state’s troubled zones.

“The Trinamool Congress chief is advocating for imposition of President’s Rule in the state. Strangely,the Centre is silent on this issue which gives a conflicting signal about the purpose of the visit,” Bose said.

He also opposed the team’s proposed visit to Khanakul. “Why should the team visit Khanakul only? Why will it not rush to those areas where our supporters were killed by Trinamool and Maoist cadres?”

“Altogether,110 CPM leaders and activists were killed in joint attacks by the Trinamool and the Maoists. The team should also visit these areas where our supporters had to sacrifice their lives,” said.