Bengal's law & order needs to improve: Rajnath

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday expressed "very serious concern" over a plethora of complaints about crude bombs being manufactured in West Bengal and said the state's law and order situation needs to improve.

He, however, assured the Centre's full assistance to the Mamata Banerjee government in the task of improving the situation.

He expressed his satisfaction over the working of the National Investigation Agency which is probing the Burdwan blast in which militant outfit Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen, Bangladesh is believed to be involved.

"NIA is an autonomous body; it is doing its work. I feel, I don't need to say much about it.

"But, I want to say... so far as law and order situation is concerned in West Bengal, it needs to be improved. The way complaints of crude bombs being manufactured are coming, that is a subject of very serious concern," Rajnath Singh told media persons here.

When asked to elaborate on his views about Bengal's law and order situation, Rajnath Singh replied: "A lot needs to be done."

Rajnath Singh assured the state government of all kind of assistance from the Centre in ushering in development, ensuring security and preserving law and order.

"And I want to assure the state government here, the Centre will provide whatever assistance is needed for West Bengal's development, for ensuring security in West Bengal and improving the law and order situation," he said.

The police have been effecting seizures of crude bombs and explosives from across the state at regular intervals. On May 6, at least 12 people, including nine minors, were killed and four others injured in an explosion in a cracker factory in Pingla in West Midnapore district.

The opposition parties and a section of the media have alleged that crude bombs were being manufactured in the facility under the patronage of a ruling Trinamool Congress leader.

Refusing to give his take on the CPI-M and the Congress's charges of bonhomie between the BJP and Bengal's ruling Trinamool Congress, Rajnath Singh said the Narendra Modi government has been working on strengthening cooperative federalism.

On the issue of BJP workers being attacked, allegedly by the Trinamool, Rajnath Singh said there was no place for violence in democracy.

"In a healthy democracy, there is no place for violence, and it is the duty of the state government to ensure the security of a party worker, irrespective of his political affiliation," said Rajnath Singh.