Kolkata intellectuals to visit Delhi over political violence

Concerned over the rising political violence and deaths in West Bengal, the state’s anti-ruling party intellectuals are going to New Delhi to hand over their deputation to the Prime Minister and the President urging action.

“We are reaching New Delhi on Sunday to apprise the Prime Minister and President of the killings and violence and seeking their intervention.

Some more like filmmakesr Gautam Ghose, Aparna Sen and writer Sirsendu Mukhopadhayay were also with us but they could not join us owing to preoccuption,”said theatre personality Bratya Basu.

The leading intellectuals in the delegation included painter Subhaprasanna and theatre pesonality Saonli Mitra.

The intellectuals in West Bengal were divided since the Singur and Nandigram incidents with the most vocal group now supporting Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress.

They earlier visited Lalgarh’s Nitai village where eight people died in a firing on Jan 7 blamed on the armed cadres of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

The intellectuals said they would share their experience in the killing fields with the top leaders.

Meanwhile, on Jan 19, West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee will meet Union Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi over the deteriorating law and order situation in West Bengal and the presence of camps of armed cadres of CPI-M.