Cong extends ‘moral support’ to Mamata’s Lalgarh rally

Intellectuals,writers,artists and others are working for restoration of peace in the area,” party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed told reporters here.

He said the West Bengal PCC had received an invitation for the rally but as the Congress had organised a different function today,it did not attend the meeting at Lalgarh.

Asked about the involvement of Maoists in the rally,Ahmed said he was not aware of that but insisted that the Congress believed in a “holistic approach” to deal with the Naxalites.

“There should be a holistic approach to deal with the Maoists. This is also the approach of the government. If there are genuine grievances,those should be removed,if there are perceived grievances,the perception should be removed,if development is needed,it should be carried out but if some people believe in the cult of the gun,they should be firmly dealt with,” Ahmed added.

Earlier,the rally had its echo in Parliament with Left members seeking to know the Centre’s stand on the alleged hobnobbing of the Trinamool with the Maoists.