Undeterred by chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s attack against the Trinamul Congress for its links with the Maoists, party chief Mamata Banerjee said he was responsible for the rise of the rebels in the state. “He is the father of the Maoists,” she said. Reacting sharply to Mr Bhattacharjee’s warning that the state government would take stern action against her party for harbouring Maoists in its camps, Ms Banerjee said that it was the ruling CPI(M) which had nurtured them. “For 34 years, the CPI(M) has been in power so how can such a large number of Maoists have assembled here without their patronage?” she asked.
She repeated her charge that the CPI(M) had used the rebels in a turf war to wrest Keshpur and Garbeta from the Trinamul Congress.
She tore into the chief minister and his party for branding every one who protested against their misrule as a Maoist. “Any one who raises the minimum protest whether it is a poor villager or a journalist or a helpless mother, the CPI(M) brands them as Maoists. They are adept in spreading canards and character assassination,” she added.