CPM Demands Probe into Central Minister’s Role in Holding up of Train

Accusing Trinamool Congress of patronizing and protecting Maoists, the CPM has demanded a comprehensive inquiry into the holding up of the Rajdhani Express in West Bengal and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explain the role of central ministers in this regard.

Referring to a statement by Trinamool leader and Union Minister of State Sisir Adhikari that he prior knowledge that such an attack would take place, the CPM demanded that the Prime Minister “needs to probe the source of such ‘knowledge’ by his ministerial colleague and inform the nation.”

Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, while initially reacting to incident, said that CPI(M) cadres had blocked the train “to malign her”, a statement “typical of the usual hyperbole and absurdity“.

“However, when the graffiti exposed the perpetrators of this outrage as belonging to the Maoists, she expressed her desire for a dialogue and even conveyed to those holding the train hostage to suggest a venue,” he said in an editorial in party organ ‘People’s Democracy’.

Observing that Trinamool has for long been seeking withdrawal of central forces carrying out anti-Maoist operations in West Bengal, he said “it is precisely due to this political collaboration between the two that the Trinamool, till we go to press, has not condemned this Maoist outrage of stopping and damaging the train.”