Buddha changes gear,turns combative

Defying pressures that he had been facing from the Opposition camp after the CPM’s consistent election drubbing,Bhattacharjee today hit back at the Trinamool for its “obstructionist role”,and said he would continue with his plan to industrialise Bengal.

“What do they (Trinamool) think of themselves? By winning a few elections,they can do anything here? We cannot let them continue spreading chaos. They are stalling all our development initiatives,” Bhattacharjee told his party workers at a rally in Tamluk.

He said despite such an environment being created by the Opposition,his government will go ahead with industrialisation,including the setting up of a petro-chemical hub in Nayachar.

“Today,I called them (local Trinamool leaders) for a meeting here,but they did not turn up. They don’t want dialogue or discussion. But all these will not stop me from going ahead with development works. I will do my work,” Bhattacharjee said.

Speaking about the Nayachar petro-hub,the chief minister said that it would be another Haldia. “What was Haldia before industrialisation? It was like Nandigram. But now thousands of people are employed there,” said Bhattacharjee. Ironically,even as the chief minister made a case for the industrialisation in the state,trade unions affiliated to both the Trinamool Congress and the CPM clashed in Haldia,leaving 12 injured. While the Left-affiliated CITU had called a strike at the Petrochemical plant in Haldia,Trinamool workers tried to force their way in. In Tamluk,Bhattacharjee,meanwhile,continued hitting at the Trinamool and accused the party of stalling the works under the national Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. “They are not working themselves nor letting anyone work for the people,” he said.

Invoking the Nandigram episode that became a watershed in the recent political development in the state,Bhattacharjee said: “In Nandigram,we had put up a notice that land will not be acquired. But still there were violence. The Trinamool are saying that no red flag will fly over Nandigram and Khejuri. Everyone has to be with the Trinamool,they say. Is that possible or acceptable in a democratic set up?” questioned the chief minister.

“Despite all this,we will work for the people. It is for the people of East Midnapore to decide whom they will choose. There is a question mark on development in this district,” he added.

The chief minister’s visit to the district comes after the by-election results in which the CPM failed to get a single seat of the 10 Assembly constituencies that went to the polls,while the Trinamool registered victory in seven. The visit is also significant as it comes in the wake of a sustain campaign launched by the Opposition for the snap polls that some of the ministers in Bhattacharjee’s Cabinet have also demanded.

The visit was also marred by road blockades and sporadic clashes as Trinamool supporters waved black flags and placards written “Go Back CM” at Ram Tarak Bazar,five kilometres from Tamluk,when the chief minister’s convoy passed through the area. They also attempted to block his convoy.

Later,the CM held a meeting with officials of the district administration,including police officers,at Kolaghat,where initiatives like Nayachar were discussed. The chief minister also enquired about the status of various projects and schemes,including making an error-free BPL list.