Allies refuse to join panel

Of late, the AIFB and RSP have been publicly criticising the Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Government8217;s handling of the situation in Nandigram. 8220;Our Central Secretariat which met on November 20 and 21 decided against accepting the proposal to be part of the fact-finding team,8221; AIFB secretary G Devarajan told The Indian Express. 8220;RSP is not part of the team. But our workers in Nandigram are assessing the situation,8221; added party leader and Rajya Sabha member Abani Roy.

8220;All facts of Nandigram are known. There is no need to send a team,8221; sources in the two partied said.

Meanwhile, the CPIM continued to defend the developments in Nandigram calling it a 8220;desperate unity of the reactionary forces8221;. They have also stepped up focusing the 8220;Maoist angle8221;. 8220;The grand alliance, from the Maoists, Islamic fundamentalists, communal forces headed by the BJP, their reactionary allies like the Trinamool to the civil society NGOs and intellectuals, has been forged in an anti-communist attempt to try and destablise the democratically-elected Government through violent means,8221; says an editorial in The People8217;s Democracy.