New Delhi: Finance Minister and Congress troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee on Monday lashed out at West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya government - alleging the CPM is responsible for the present jungle raj situation in the state
“What kind of jungle raj is one living in here? In the whole of Bengal this situation prevails. The CPM resorts to terror whenever elections are round the corner,” said Pranab Mukherjee.
Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday put the onus on West Bengal Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to give a reply to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram's letter which asked the government to disarm CPI-M cadres in the state.
"The Home Minister has written to the state government. He has fulfilled his responsibility. Now the state government should fulfil its responsibility and reply by acknowledging receipt of the letter," he told reporters at Burnpur after an event.
Later at Nabagram in Murshidabad district, Mukherjee in a vitriolic attack on state's law and order situation, said in last 34 years of CPI-M rule hundreds of Congress workers were killed.
"What for? you will stay at your place, I will stay at mine. Where is the scope for murder?"
He said at a party workers' meeting that panchyat pradhan was killed while working in his office. "What kind of jungle rule one is living in here?... Government's first duty is to protect people and if that is not kept, what is the meaning of a government? In whole West Bengal this situation prevails."
In Kolkata, CPI-M state secretary Biman Bose today still maintained that the letter had not reached the government yet.
"The state government has not received the letter. I have heard what Pranabbabu has said. Definitely a reply will be given on receipt of the letter," he told reporters.
Acknowledging existence of CPI-M camps in Jangalmahal, Bose said, "In what has appeared to be contents of the letter, a reference was made of the existence of CPI-M camps. The camps are there to shelter homeless people. Where would the
homeless people go? CPI-M party offices have been converted into camps to shelter homeless people."
"Let Trinamool Congress give a list of their partymen killed. We are prepared to give a list of CPI-M men killed. What is being said is to confuse people. Trinamool Congress had in its memorandum said that 55,000 people had died," he
said referring to Chidambaram's letter which stated that 96 Trinamool cadres had been killed and 1,237 injured till December 15.
The letter also gave corresponding figures for CPI-M at 65 killed and 773 injured while that of the Congress at 15 killed and 221 injured.
Chidambaram's strongly-worded letter to Bhattacharjee comes in the wake of ally Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee alleging misuse of central security forces in the state and offering to quit if her charge was proved wrong.
(With PTI inputs)
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