CPI(M) and Naxalites

At an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar on Saturday, Trinamool Congress leader Sudip Bandyopadhyay raked up the issue of “atrocities” of the CPI(M). In his speech, Bandyopadhyay kept on referring to the Naxalites as “CPI(M)”.

This was enough to irk CPI(M) leader in the Lok Sabha, Basudeb Acharia. “Why are you using the term CPI(M)? Even the Maoists call themselves CPI (Maoists) and not CPI(M). Stop using the term CPI(M),” said Acharia. The demand, however, fell on deaf ears, as Bandyopadhyay continued, concluding, “Maoists and Marxists are two sides of the same coin.”