The running feud between the CPI(M) and Trinamul Congress has once again landed at the doorstep of the home ministry with chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee writing to Union home minister P. Chidambaram about alleged Trinamul-Maoist linakages.
Mr Bhattacharjee has based his evidence on a recent operation undertaken by the joint forces leading to the arrest of two Maoist activists from a Trinamul camp on January 31. Having received Mr Bhattacharjee’s letter, Mr Chidambaram has sought a report from the Central forces on the incident.
The Marxist government has also virtually put the onus on the Central forces to maintain law and order during the forthcoming assembly elections.
Home ministry sources said that the West Bengal government has requested for at least 100 companies (10,000 personnel) of Central paramilitary forces to maintain peace during the Assembly elections.
“West Bengal has asked for few hundred companies of Central forces. This means that the state government is itself apprehensive of an increase in political clashes and violence during the elections,” an MHA official said.
Meanwhile, Mr Bhattacharjee’s move to draw the home minister’s attention to the alleged Trinamul-Maoist nexus in his letter has come after his meeting with Mr Chidambaram in the national capital last month who impressed upon him that armed cadres of parties cannot be allowed to take law into their hands.
The meeting followed a “letter war” between the home minister and Mr Bhattacharjee after the former asked the CM to “disarm” cadres of the “Harmad Vahini” allegedly supported by the ruling party in the Marxist bastion.
In his fresh letter, Mr Bhattacharjee has tried to counter the allegations by pointing out alleged linkages between the UPA ally and its arch political rival in the state, Trinamul, with the Maoists.
“We have received a one-page fax sent by the west Bengal CM. A report has been sought from our forces,” a senior government official told this newspaper.
On West Bengal’s demand for additional forces, home ministry sources said that the government cannot provide such a large number of Central forces to a single state during polls.
The home ministry officials are expected to meet EC officials this week to decide the deployment of Central forces in poll-bound states.