CPI-M maintaining double standards on Darjeeling unrest: Mamata

Accusing the CPI-M of maintaining double standards on the ongoing unrest in the Darjeeling hills, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday claimed it were trying to divide Bengal by joining hands with the BJP.

"CPI-M maintains double standards. They are hypocrites. They say different things at different places. In the hills they are saying 'divide Bengal', while in the plains they are staging walkouts. Their characteristics are difficult to ascertain," Banerjee said at a public rally in West Bengal's Medinipur.

Banerjee was apparently aghast with the Marxists-led Left Front for holding her responsible in the state assembly on Tuesday for the recent flare-up in the Darjeeling hills. The Left members had walked out in protest when Banerjee hit back, alleging they were "fishing in troubled waters".

"There is no difference between the BJP and the CPI-M here. Some of the CPI-M leaders have made a lot of money and now they are joining hands with the ruling party at the Centre to protect their money, their property and their positions," she alleged.

The ongoing unrest in the Darjeeling hills over the demand for a separate state of Gorkhaland has paralysed life in the region, with the pro-Gorkhaland outfits holding an indefinite shutdown for nearly two months now.

While the hill-based political parties are unwilling to have a dialogue with the Trinamool Congress-run state government, the political parties and groupings in the plains, including the Left Front, BJP and the Congress also opted out of the state government-sponsored all-party meeting to resolve the dispute.

Upping the ante against the CPI-M, Banerjee charged them with massacring people and burying their remains during the Left Front regime.

"They destroyed Bengal during their reign of 34 years. So many people were killed here in Medinipur (read West Medinipur district). No one knows how many human skeletons are still buried here. From Nandigram to Singur to Netai, no one was spared from their torture anywhere," she said.

"At least 13-14 people among those who fought against them during the Nandigram land movement, are still missing. No one knows if they are dead or alive. Their dead bodies are yet to be found," the Trinamool Congress supremo claimed.

--IANS

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