Kolkata, Aug 3 (UNI) With a rift plaguing the ruling Left Front over the Nandigram agitation, veteran CPI(M) leader Jyoti Basu today justified the March 14 police firing and said unlike in Khammam the movement going on in the emabattled area was undemocratic.
"No one of us thinks that the Nandigram police firing is unjustified. The agitation there is undemocratic and the movement in Khammam is democratic. There can be no comparison between the two," he told reporters after attending the party's state Secretariat meeting.
He said Divisional Commissioner Balbir Ram who enquired into the Nandigram incident, had said in his report that police were forced to open fire. "However, I do not know what the court will say," he said.
Observing that Nandigram remained a "no man's land" and a territory, occupied by the opposition, Mr Basu said a parallel administration was being run in the area with about 1,000 people still remaining out of home and incidents of looting, arsoning and imposing fines on CPI(M) supporters taking place regularly.
"A Government within the Government is existing there. But this can not go on...the Government can not tolerate this," Mr Basu said adding that more police would be sent to the area to handle the situation.
On the other hand, Mr Basu said, it was because the Andhra Pradesh Government had realised that the movement in Khammam was democratic that police personnel had been transferred and compensation announced.
His comments came a day after veteran Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh described as democratic the Nandigram agitation that started in protest against land acquisition.
Mr Ghosh had also said there was no discussion in the Left Front before the police went into Nandigram and resorted to firing on March 14.
In reply to a question on the possibility of providing compensation to the families of Nandigram victims, Mr Basu said it could be considered on humanitarian ground, but that would be decided by the court.
When asked about the Front partners' criticism of the Nandigram police firing, Mr Basu said "I don't know who has said what. There will be a Left Front meeting on August nine and the issue will be discussed there." He said the Chief Minister gave report at today's meeting that peace process would be resumed in Nandigram and more police camps would be set up in the area.
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"No one of us thinks that the Nandigram police firing is unjustified. The agitation there is undemocratic and the movement in Khammam is democratic. There can be no comparison between the two," he told reporters after attending the party's state Secretariat meeting.
He said Divisional Commissioner Balbir Ram who enquired into the Nandigram incident, had said in his report that police were forced to open fire. "However, I do not know what the court will say," he said.
Observing that Nandigram remained a "no man's land" and a territory, occupied by the opposition, Mr Basu said a parallel administration was being run in the area with about 1,000 people still remaining out of home and incidents of looting, arsoning and imposing fines on CPI(M) supporters taking place regularly.
"A Government within the Government is existing there. But this can not go on...the Government can not tolerate this," Mr Basu said adding that more police would be sent to the area to handle the situation.
On the other hand, Mr Basu said, it was because the Andhra Pradesh Government had realised that the movement in Khammam was democratic that police personnel had been transferred and compensation announced.
His comments came a day after veteran Forward Bloc leader Ashok Ghosh described as democratic the Nandigram agitation that started in protest against land acquisition.
Mr Ghosh had also said there was no discussion in the Left Front before the police went into Nandigram and resorted to firing on March 14.
In reply to a question on the possibility of providing compensation to the families of Nandigram victims, Mr Basu said it could be considered on humanitarian ground, but that would be decided by the court.
When asked about the Front partners' criticism of the Nandigram police firing, Mr Basu said "I don't know who has said what. There will be a Left Front meeting on August nine and the issue will be discussed there." He said the Chief Minister gave report at today's meeting that peace process would be resumed in Nandigram and more police camps would be set up in the area.
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