September 26, 2010
Mamata visits Singur to observe ‘Shahid Divas’
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, during her public rally in Singur on Saturday, reiterated her demand for withdrawal of central forces from Lalgarh. She believes that the state police will back out the moment central forces personnel are withdrawn and people will show the CPM its place. “I give a call for immediate withdrawal of central forces from Lalgarh. The CPM can’t be allowed to use weapons from the state and central armouries to gain political ground there. I have taken up the matter with the Prime Minister and union home minister. Let the CPM gain political ground through democratic means. The moment the central forces are withdrawn, the state police will run like rats into their holes. The CPM will then learn where it stands,” she said. Describing the atrocities carried out by the CPM cadres – some of them in police uniform – she said, “I just received news that the mother of Lakshman, one of our supporters from Salboni, has been shot dead by the harmads. The CPM may spill as much blood as it chooses to but they can’t kill all of us. They are planning to celebrate victory day at Lalgarh on October 2. I shall go there again on October 5.” Claiming yet again that she is against bloodshed, Mamata came down heavily on a top brass CPM leader who was in the all-party team that paid a visit to Kashmiri separatist leader Syed Ahmed Shah Gilani recently. “When I speak of dialogue with the Maoists, you brand me a Maoist sympathizer. Now that you have gone and met somebody who receives support from a foreign nation, should we say the same about you? I have always believed that dialogue can solve all issues. Even Pranab Mukherjee has stood by my statement and said there is scope for dialogue in a democracy. When the government can consider holding talks with Kashmiri separatists, why can’t the same rule apply for the Maoists,” she said. She further went on to say, “But then, how can the CPM believe in talks and discussions? To tarnish my image, they sabotage trains, without getting bothered about the large number of people who lose their lives. They get angry when I talk about going to Darjeeling. They try to take the credit after the railway ministry does everything for tourists stranded in Uttarakhand. They go to Matua religious leader Binapani Devi and ask her for support. How can she do so? She is part of the movement seeking a change in the state after all.”
Image Courtesy: www.article.wn.com
