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Journalism of Courage
CALCUTTA, FEB 26: The 12-hour bandh called by Naxalites partially affected life in some pockets in West Bengal today. The Left Front Government, however, said the bandh elicited no response’.
The extremists, who called the bandh in protest against the State Government’s refusal to probe into cases of genocides of Naxalites in West Bengal during the 1970s,’ told reporters that the bandh “was successful as the people expressed their solidarity for their (the Naxalites’) cause peacefully.”
Briefing the press here this afternoon, state secretary K Pal of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist-Liberation), said: “The success is making us think in terms of a bigger movement on the issue.”
While Pal said the police arrested over 1,500 Naxalite activists throughout the State, State Minister for Home (police) Buddhadeb Bhattacharya told newspersons, “The bandh made no impact and attendance in State Government offices was good.”
However, normal life was said to be disrupted in areas like Nadia,Santipur and some localities near the city, though there was no report of violence.
Private buses and other modes of transport were seen plying normally, though there were reports of local trains being stopped in Sealdah and Howrah sections early in the morning. Shops remained closed in a few places.
The Naxalites have also urged the government to reopen cases of “political killings of those whom the CPI (M) claim were murdered by the Naxalites.
The Calcutta High Court recently rejected a petition seeking judicial inquiry into the killings of Naxalite leaders and activists.
