Kolkata: The ruling CPM has objected to the Election Commission sending a team to Bengal to probe the law and order situation. The CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat has termed EC visit as “unprecedented”.“We don’t know why is such a team sent by the Election Commission? This has never happened before in any of the states or in any of the assembly elections. We will speak to the commission about this,” Karat A team of five IPS officers along with the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar is to assess the law and order situation in the state ahead of the assembly elections. But the men on the mission chose to remain silent under special orders from the EC, making it clear that they mean business.
Meanwhile behind the closed doors of CPM headquarters in Alimuddin street in Kolkata, the CPM firmed up election strategy in the two crucial left-ruled poll-bound states of Kerala and Bengal. The message was simple - Netai will not be another Nandigram which dented Left's image in two elections. The party instead chose to remain silent on the carnage that killed 9 people.
“Investigation is going on. It is unfortunate that so many people have lost their lives. The High Court will come up with a decision. I will not go further than this,” Karat told the newsmen.
Internal skirmishes give way to a party now closing ranks to a bigger threat- Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. It remains to be if it will be that easy for the beleaguered Chief Minister already cornered from all sides.
When Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattracharya meets Home Minister P Chidamabram on January 19, he will talk about the alleged TMC-Maoist nexus, the CPM’s primary poll plank. The Trinamool Congress in turn will also meet the home minister the very same day to talk about CPM's armed cadres. With elections approaching fast and with the Election Commission stepping in, this high voltage poll drama has acquired a new dimension.
