Left parties rally against rise of communalism in Bengal

Protesting against rising communal tension and unrest in West Bengal and demanding restoration of peace and harmony, state units of 19 Left parties took out a rally here on Wednesday.

Shouting slogans and carrying banners and flags, over 1,000 cadres of parties like the Communist Party of India-Marxist, Communist Party of India, Socialist Unity Centre of India, Students Federation of India, and All India Forward Bloc rallied and marched from Mahajati Sadan to Dharmatala in central Kolkata.

"Bengal has a history of communal harmony and understanding for centuries. We are alarmed to see attempts to break that atmosphere of mutual coexistence," Left Front legislative party leader Sujan Chakraborty told IANS.

Urging both the state and the central governments to take necessary steps to maintain peace in West Bengal, the state CPI-M leader said the authorities should be held responsible if communal harmony gets disrupted.

"The state and the central governments should take responsibility if long standing atmosphere of harmony is disrupted. We urge them to do everything possible to maintain communal amity," Chakraborty added.

--IANS

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