CM, state Home Secy differ on comparison with Kandahar

Drawing a parallel with the release of terrorists in Kandahar, West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen today said such exchanges have happened in the past, but Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya termed it as his personal opinion and not the official line.

"No government can say that whatever be the situation, we will not compromise. This kind of incident happened in the past in Kandahar, Delhi and Kashmir. Every time in the past, whenever such incidents took place, this question arose. However, we have to see that this kind of incident does not recur," state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said in Kolkata.

However in Delhi, the Chief Minister said Sen "should not have said this. It may be his personal opinion but not the official reaction of the state government."

Sen's comments and the Chief Minister's reaction came in the wake of the release of 26 women agitators on bail in exchange for Officer-in-Charge of Sankrail police station, Atindranath Dutta.
   
Sen had equated the exchange with Kandahar hijack and Rubaiyya Sayeed episodes, saying it was due to "soft" character of the state unlike Israel.

"The state and Central governments always take a flexible attitude in this type of incident," Sen had told reporters yesterday when asked if the state government had softened its stand towards Maoists in securing the release of the police officer.