Trinamool Congress spreading violence with Naxals: Buddhadeb

West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee accused opposition Trinamool Congress of joining hands with the Naxals to spread violence and stall development.

“Why is there so much violence in Bankura, Purulia and West Medinipur? Villages are burnt and schools attacked. Three teachers had been killed. With whom has the opposition party joined hands?,” Bhattacharjee said at a CITU-backed para-teachers’ rally in the city.

He said the Trinanool Congress has joined hands with the Naxals at a time when the government was trying to confine the ultras to the inter-state border areas.

“They are doing this to spread violence and stall development in the districts. The obstacles against violence must be removed,” he said. Bhattacharjee said his government would protect the job security of para-teachers of the Sarva Siksha Abhiyan if the Centre took any decision to stop funding the SSA.

The government had already provided job security to para-teachers of the panchayat-run schools by fixing their retirement age at 60 years, he said.

CITU state president Shyamal Chakraborty said it would hold a country-wide campaign with SSA workers in support of their demands.

Pointing out that the 2G Spectrum scam involved a sum of Rs 1.76 lakh crore, he claimed the amount would have sponsored education for all from the kindergarten to post- graduate levels.

Despite funds crunch, the West Bengal government has made arrangements to provide Rupees one lakh to panchayat school teachers at the time of their retirement, he said.