CPI-M conspiring against Railways, says Mamata

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee today accused the CPI(M) of conspiring against the Railways by resorting to frequent rail roko programmes across the state.

"CPI(M) is conspiring against the Railways," the union minister told reporters here before leaving for Delhi. The party should be held responsible if anything untoward happened during these agitation programmes, she said.

A rail roko agitation led by CPI MP Prabodh Panda was held at Narayangarh in West Midnapore district this morning. The party was demanding the station be made a 'model' one.

In the recent weeks, CPI(M) has held several protests across the state. The party stopped trains for hours on various demands. Railways has filed an FIR against a CPI(M) MLA for holding up traffic for several hours last week at Malda in north Bengal.

Banerjee had yesterday urged the CPI(M) not to disrupt train services "just because your political opponent is heading the Railways". On Infosys and Wipro's decision to withdraw from an IT park near Rajarhat following a land acquisition scam, Banerjee said Trinamool Congress wanted the companies to stay in the state and be provided alternative land.

"The government has thousands of acres of land at New Town in the outskirts of the city which can be given to the IT majors," she said.