July 23, 2014
Trinamool raises CRPF windrawal from Bengal in Parliament
Chief Whip of Trinamool in Rajya Sabha,Derek O`Brien today raised the issue of withdrawal of CRPF companies from NorthBengal during Zero Hour. Speaking on matters of urgent public interest, heurged the Centre to practice operative federalism instead of cooperativefederalism.
Trinamool also raised this issue in Lok Sabha during Zero Hour. Leader of the party in Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandyopadhyay urged the Centre to reconsider the decision. He said such important matters must be decided after due consultation with the State Govt. He said if the decision is not reconsidered, it would lead to chaotic situation.
During his speech, Derek O'Brien said that the CentralGovernment has issued orders to withdraw 13 companies of CRPF from NorthBengal. 5 of these companies will be withdrawn tomorrow while the rest will beremoved on July 31, 2014. The State Government had earlier written to the Centreto reconsider this decision as areas in North Bengal are sensitive to violence.
There have been incidents of violence inthe Hills last year. In December 2013, there was a blast in Jalpaiguri. KLO (Kamtapur Liberation Organisation) andKPP (Kamtapur People's Party) are operational in these areas. North Bengal shares the border with threecountries: Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh. Security in this area is of supremeimportance.
Text of Derek O'Brien's speech in Rajya Sabha:
Sir, I want to bring to the notice of theHouse through you the issue about the withdrawal of additional CRPF forces fromNorth Bengal. Bengal is one of the few states which share its borders withthree countries. The MoS for Home Affairs is here. His state too shares theborder with three countries, so he will appreciate this and I want to thank theMinister for staying back to listen to this in spite of the earlier disruption.We appreciate that, Sir.
Sir, thirteen CRPF Companies had beenposted in North Bengal. The State Government wrote to the Central Governmentwhen the Ministry of Home Affairs wanted to remove those thirteen Companies onthe 14th July.
Sir, the area there itself is quite tense.In December there were killings in Jalpaiguri and the KPP and the KLO areoperational in that area, Sir.
Sir, of these thirteen Companies, despitethe State Government writing, sadly Sir, tomorrow morning at 10 AM, around 20hrs from now, five of those Companies are being withdrawn and on the 31st Julyeight more will be withdrawn.
Sir, through you I will appeal, request andurge the Ministry of Home Affairs to please reconsider, in the interest ofpeace in that area. The State Government has made the request in writing. Thenew Government had made many statements on how they want federalism to operatein the true sense of the word, not through cooperative federalism but throughoperative federalism. Sir, the Minister for Home is here. Please stay thisorder. Please help the State Government to maintainpeace in those highly sensitive areas. Time is running out, tomorrow is thedeadline. We would really appreciate if those thirteen CRPF Companies areallowed to stay in North Bengal.
Text of Sudip Bandyopadhyay's speech in Lok Sabha:
Hon. Home Minister, I draw yourattention. Hon. Speaker Madam, ten days ago,I raised an issue when Advani ji, Venkaiah Naidu ji, Sushma ji were here. InWest Bengal thirteen Companies of CRPF are going to be ithdrawn without givingany prior notice to the State Government, which was absolutely unwanted at thismoment.
Bengal has become peaceful after a longbattle with Maoists. Jangalmahal isthere, Darjeeling and international border are also there. So hon. HomeMinister assured that in a federal structure, such thing cannot happen withoutconsulting the Chief Minister.
Now a message has been received by me justone hour back that five companies of CRPF are going to be withdrawn tomorrowand other eight are going to be withdrawn on July 31, 2014. I urge upon you…the assurance you gave in the House 10 days ago… that has not beenimplemented at all.
I have been asked by the Chief Minister tocommunicate to you that you take an immediate decision and assure us that thesecompanies of CRPF can only be withdrawn in consultation with the Chief Ministeror the State Government. Otherwise a very chaotic situation will emerge in theState of West Bengal. I want a positive assurance from you again as you did on theearlier day.
