Launching a scathing attack against Mamata Banerjee government for what he alleged was pursuing a politics of vengeance and vendetta, former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Friday warned that the Left supporters would not take it lying down. “We may have been defeated but we have not and we will not bow our heads,” he thundered.
Mr Bhattacharjee was addressing a Left Front rally in the city to protest the killings of party workers in the districts. The Left Front sought to move an adjournment motion on the same issue in the Assembly and when it was not allowed, the Opposition legislators staged a walkout. A Left Front delegation later met governor M.K. Narayanan and submitted a memorandum.
Terming the arrest of CPI(M) leader and former minister Susanta Ghosh in a 10-year-old murder case as “political revenge,” Mr Bhattacharjee said that they (The Trinamul Congress-led government) are just “importing the drama of vengeance in the politics of Bengal” after coming to power. “They have just one mission: by any means implicate the leaders of the Opposition in false cases and arrest them. They have dug up a 10-year-old case only to arrest Sushanta Ghosh. They are setting up commission on atrocities on the refugees at Marichjhanpi. The Trinamul Congress is exhuming old cases which betrayed political vendetta,” Mr Bhattacharjee said.
Referring to the Sain family massacre in Burdwan town where four persons were hacked to death allegedly by Left Front supporters, Mr Bhattacharjee said: “They are setting up a commission on what happened nearly 40 years ago. When I was the chief minister, the Trinamul Congress vandalised the Assembly, attacked police stations and even slapped on-duty police officers, but I did not take any action against them.”
While the Maoist and the KLO militants are being promised to be released as political prisoners, thousands of Left Front activists are being implicated in false cases on fabricated grounds, including so-called arms recovery, he said. “They are killing our supporters, resorting to violence, driving out our workers and supporters from home,” the former chief minister said, adding that even the Congress, the ruling partner of the alliance, is not spared from these attacks.
“Even armed conflict between the different factions of Trinamul Congress are taking place over the share of booty. Anarchy has come to prevail over the rule of the law. People of the state cannot be expected to remain a silent spectator in this alarming situation for long, ”Mr Bhattacharjee said.
Meanwhile, in the Assembly on Friday, the Left Front demanded adjournment of the House to discuss the “reign of terror unleashed by the ruling Trinamul Congress”. Speaker Biman Banerjee allowed to read out the adjournment motion but did not permit any discussion on it. Protesting this, the Left Front MLAs rushed into the well. After protesting the Speaker’s decision for few minutes, the Left Front MLAs staged a walkout from the House.
Later, Leader of Opposition Suryakanta Mishra said: “We had discussed the subject of the adjournment motion in the business advisory committee meeting. State parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee had assured us that time would be allotted for discussion on the motion. However, the Speaker unilaterally rejected it today on the instruction of the ruling party. This is undemocratic and also contradictory to the promise of the chief minister that the Opposition would get more importance in the House.”
In his response to this allegation, Mr Chatterjee said that the opposition tried to stall the proceedings of the House through this adjournment motion, especially when the flood-like situation has happened in several district due to heavy rain.