Mamata announces 'anti-terror' movement

Kolkata, 2 Sept: Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee today announced a month-long "anti-terror" movement across Bengal from 6 September to "highlight CPI(M)'s armed attacks and atrocities" on her party workers.

"We will undertake a month-long movement all over the state in the form of padayatra and rallies to highlight the atrocities by CPI(M) cadres with the help of the police and the administration in their bid to occupy areas," Banerjee told reporters after a party core committee meeting.

Rejecting CPI(M)'s claim that the party had camps in the junglemahal area to shelter homeless people, she renewed her charge that the Marxists had been running arms training camps in the forested areas.

"Union home minister P Chidambaram has pointed to the existence of CPI(M) armed camps in the junglemahal areas where the Marxist cadres are being handed over firearms and imparted training at Goaltore. There have been loot and atrocities by Marxist cadres in the region," Banerjee said.

To resist CPI(M)'s attempt to occupy areas, Banerjee said, "We will launch a march to Keshpur on 12 September with Mukul Roy and Subhendu Adhikary in the leadership."

The Trinamool supremo said, "It is amazing that even some ministers in the Left Front government have been holding out threats against Trinamool activists. However, our movement will be democratic and in a peaceful manner."

Banerjee said the movement would include a march from Lalgarh to Dharampur in the Maoist strongholds on 9 September.

She would visit the violence-hit Nanoor area in Birbhum district on 19 September and take part in "march to Singur" on 25 September, she said.

Banerjee claimed there was a constitutional crisis in the Left-ruled state "where the Constitution has been misused for petty party purposes by the CPI(M)".

Banerjee said that despite provocations, her party was still "behaving properly" and launching movement in a peaceful and democratic manner.

Asserting that her party was totally against forcible acquisition of farmland for industry, Banerjee said, "Nandigram will show us the way as also Singur where farmers unitedly resisted move to grab their land."

She dubbed the Left Front government as a government of "guns and torture".


(PTI)