Author: Saugar Sengupta
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: December 3, 2007
... says Governor Gandhi while visiting carnage
site
Sticking to his earlier stand that the recapture
of Nandigram by CPI(M) cadre was "unlawful and unacceptable", West
Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Sunday visited the troubled area and
said "wrong-doers must not be exonerated" and pitched for the presence
of CRPF there for some more time.
In contrast to West Bengal Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's emphasis on industrialisation in the area, the Governor
said Nandigram had a great future for agriculture and the State and Centre
should look into it for the area's sustainable development.
The Governor took stock of the situation in
the troubled area, much to the chagrin to the ruling CPI(M). Gandhi, who had
recently earned the wrath of the top leadership of the ruling CPI(M) for terming
the manner of recapture of the Nandigram villages as "unlawful and unacceptable",
gave the villagers a patient hearing.
The Governor interacted with the affected
villagers and refugees to know their plight.
At the refugee camp at Braja Mohon Tiwari
High School, where Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC) supporters are
sheltered, the people narrated their plight and expressed fear in returning
to their homes.
They claimed they were afraid of reprisals
and further violence once they returned to their villages. The Governor took
an extensive tour of the trouble-torn villages, Satengabari, Sonachura, Chandipur
Hanschera, Kendamari, Gokulnagar, Adhikaripara and Tekhali. He stopped at
various places to talk to the villagers.
He even played cricket with village lads.
Even as the Governor's convoy negotiated the
potholed village roads, Gandhi stepped out of his car, summoned farmers busy
harvesting their crops and enquired about the yield and suggested the authorities
to take steps to improve the farming infrastructure of the region.
Gandhi called for extension of the CRPF's
deployment in Nandigram. The presence of the Central forces, locals told the
Governor, was necessary to counter the cadre attack. The CPI(M) leadership,
however, did not respond to the Governor's visit.
"The people here want lasting peace and
they have full faith in the CRPF, which must be taken note of," Gandhi
said.
Even as the victims of CPI(M) brutality welcomed
the Governor, at Tekhali, CPI(M) workers shouted slogans against Gandhi. They
asked him why he had not come during the past eleven months when hundreds
of them were forced to live in refugee camps after being driven out of their
homes by the BUPC activists. Gandhi also met the kin of a killed CPI(M) panchayat
member Ranjit Samanta.
The Governor said he would send a report to
the Centre on the situation in Nandigram.
"Governors of all the States send reports
to the Union Home Ministry from time to time and there is nothing new in it.
It is a routine thing,'' Gandhi told mediapersons at Bhangabera village, the
last stop of his visit, when asked whether he would send a report to the Centre
after his tour.
Taking stock
* Stands by his denunciation of CPI(M) cadre's
capture of Nandigram
* Wrong-doers must not be exonerated
* Pitches for presence of CRPF there for some
more time
* Says Nandigram has a great future for agriculture
* Will soon send report to Centre
