He said so on Wednesday even though on Tuesday he was addressing the media as the chief minister, in Writer’s Building, the seat of government.
KOLKATA: A combative chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said here on Wednesday that his comments that the “opposition was paid back on their own coin” on Tuesday was made as a CPI(M) party leader. He said so on Wednesday even though on Tuesday he was addressing the media as the chief minister, in Writer’s Building, the seat of government.
“I am a chief minister and a CPI(M) leader. I cannot be above the party,” Bhattacharya said. Hinting at a political cleansing of Nandigram, he said that the party had decided that only those living in Nandigram will be allowed in and “no outsider” would be permitted into the area.
Continuing to justify action in Nandigram by party cadres, the chief minister said, “What has happened is a result of the path walked by the opposition. For the past eleven months, the administration was not allowed to enter and work in the two blocks of Nandigram. It was an exceptional situation where the state police could not function. The last time it did, there were killings. Finally there was no option left but to let our supporters and workers who were homeless and facing violence to return to their villages. Why don’t you try to understand that the situation in Nandigram is fundamentally much better today.”
“There is a new dawn in Nandigram. But for the sun’s rays to warm up will take some more time. But in 30 years of Left rule nothing like this has happened,” the chief minister said.
Replying whether the inability of the state to enter Nandigram was an administrative failure, Bhattacharya said, “There are 341 blocks in West Bengal. The administration’s failure in two blocks cannot be said to be a failure of the entire administration in the entire state.” Laying the blame of entire Nandigram killings on the opposition, he said, “I have told the opposition several times not to align with Maoists. You can verify that with them. But over the past two months Maoists from Jharkhand started training camps and bringing in arms. The state police is not equipped to tackle such a situation and the Centre delayed sending central forces, after initially refusing it. But better late that never.”
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