Bengal readies for fresh offensive in Lalgarh

The West Bengal government seems to have come around to agreeing to the Centre’s plans to launch a fresh offensive against Left-wing extremism in the state after successfully exiting them from Lalgarh.

The Centre was earlier irked as neither West Bengal chief minister Budhhadeb Bhattacharjee nor his cabinet colleagues attended the CMs’ conference earlier this week. It is being seen as part of the Left strategy to keep a safe distance from any plan aimed at launching a direct action against insurgents for political reasons.

But there now seems to be a change of heart in the CPI(M)-led dispensation. Contrary to their earlier belief that the situation could be handled politically, they seem to have realised the futility of such a thought, home secretary GK Pillay said. The fresh operation to be launched by central para-military forces, with the cooperation of the state police, is a precursor to the unveiling of a new offensive being formulated by the Centre to combat the Maoist threat.

“Lalgarh is going to be our laboratory for what we plan to do in other Maoist-affected states,” Pillay said. The Centre was initially reluctant to spare more central forces for Bengal in the face of the state’s reluctance to take the Maoists head-on. “Why should the Centre provide more forces when the state government seems to have run out of ideas,” a ministry source had said.

But now there is no pressure, either from the Trinamool or the Left parties, to go slow on insurgents, Pillay said. On the other hand, CRPF D-G AS Gill said there was perceptible change in Lalgarh, with about 300 sq km area having been cleared of Maoists. “The entire area has been opened for the administration to start relief and development work. We plan to spread our operation beyond Lalgarh soon,” he said.