CPM ready for volunteer action against Maoists,allies worried

With the CPM reportedly planning to pit volunteers against the Maoists in their bastion of West Midnapore district....

With the CPM reportedly planning to pit volunteers against the Maoists in their bastion of West Midnapore district,the constituents of the Left Front have voiced their fears saying an armed resistance would lead to anarchy and that the CPM should desist from any such move.

LF allies like the CPI and Forward Bloc said these volunteer groups would create additional problems in West Midnapore,especially Lalgarh and surrounding areas. It is a fact that CPM supporters are being killed by the Maoists everyday,but armed revenge cannot be an option for a political party or front, said state Minor Irrigation Minister and CPI leader Nandagopal Bhattacharya.

CPI sources said the state secretariat of the party had already decided to take up the issue with the CPM and would demand a discussion at the next Left Front meeting. I do not know whether the issue will figure at LF meet,but officially we will ask the CPM to discuss8230; a bilateral meeting can also be held to discuss the issue, said Bhattacharya.

The Forward Bloc was of the view that the state government should take the initiative for talks with the Maoists. A discussion can solve problems. We condemn frequent murders by the Maoists but an armed resistance will lead to anarchy, said Debabrata Biswas,general secretary of the Bloc.

A senior CPM leader said they were encouraging retaliation against the armed Maoists as Maoists are killing our supporters and taking shelter inside jungles. It is not possible for the police to protect each and every supporter. So,there must be a resistance group at the grassroots level. We would not have to surrender to the Maoists then. Ask the leaders who are talking about a political battle against the Maoists as to how many of their supporters were killed by the Maoists, said the leader.

The CPM state secretariat,the highest decision-making body in the state,had discussed the issue and approved the idea of creating volunteer groups in villages.

The CPM West Midnapore district committee had floated the idea of village-level resistance groups. Sources say the 13-member CPM secretariat feels that once the Maoists are challenged at the grassroots level,it would be easier for the government to act.

Story continues below this ad

We are at the receiving end. The LF partners may raise some theoretical questions but we have to face the Maoist menace. So,we have planned to form the resistance groups, said a secretariat member.

Party sources said volunteer groups had already been formed in at least 10 villages,including Dasbandh,Worlidanga,Enayatpur,Dhorasole,Bulbandh-Madnapore,Bagarichatra,which are close to Lalgarh.

Though the police have not recovered a single body from the Enayatpur area where the CPM cadres fought a gunbattle against Maoists a few days ago,the party leaders still claim at least 10 Maoists were killed.

In fact,party mouthpiece ran a victory story containing an unidentified eyewitness account of at least 10 Maoists being killed by the villagers. Party leaders,however,refused to say anything officially.