Condemning the police firing on people protesting the construction of the Jaitapur nuclear power plant, the CPI(M) on Tuesday demanded an immediate halt to the project.
The party also sought adequate compensation to the next of kin of a man who was killed in the firing and to those injured.
"The local people have been voicing their opposition to the location of the plant in their area and have refused to accept the forcible acquisition of their lands," the CPI(M) Politburo said in a statement here.
It said the Jaitapur power project, to be set-up with imported nuclear plants from French company Areva, will have reactors based on the European Pressurised Reactor (EPR) technology.
"Such reactors have not been commissioned for operation anywhere else in the world yet. There are questions about the reliability and safety of these new reactors", it said.
In the light of the crisis which has developed in some of the nuclear power reactors in Japan, the CPI(M) demanded an immediate halt to the nuclear project.a