Mamata Banerjee to visit Lalgarh victims’ families
A day after bloody political clashes left eight dead in Lalgarh, whipping up fresh tension in the poll-bound West Bengal, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee is expected to visit the homes of the victims on Saturday.
Coming as the culmination of the continued political clashes, Friday’s incident prompted Union Home Minister P Chidambaram to call Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to Delhi as Governor M K Naryanan asked the state government to ‘act decisively’ to stop violence.
Two of those killed were women, while about a score of people were injured, four of them critically, as supporters of the CPI(M) and Trinamool clashed at Netai village under Lalgarh police station of West Midnapore district.
Allegations and counter allegations flew thick as rival political parties traded charges against each other with the main opposition Trinamool Congress holding the CPI(M) solely responsible for the ‘systematic carnage’ and the ruling Marxists accusing the Trinamool and Maoists for carrying out attacks on villagers.
Renewing his attack on the CPI(M) allegedly for continuing the ‘politics of killing’, Banerjee said on Friday that no other word, but ‘harmad'(pirates and plunderers) was appropriate for the ‘CPI(M) goons.’
The coinage had sparked off a row between the Union Home Minister and the Chief Minister last week as the former used the word in a letter to the state government on the law and order situation.
The CPI(M), however, claimed that the Lalgarh incident was the fallout of a joint attack by Trinamool Congress and Maoist activists on the local villagers, who had fled home because of political violence, but came back recently.
The party said a clash took place between the two sides resulting in the death of some people.
The Trinamool Congress, which has given call for observing a black day throughout the state on Saturday, put up barricades on several thoroughfares of the city protesting the Lalgarh incident.
The Trinamool Congress, which has given call for observing a black day throughout the state on Saturday, put up barricades on several thoroughfares of the city protesting the Lalgarh incident.