03-18-2007, 10:23 PM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Worse than Jallianwala </b>
Saugar Sengupta | Kolkata
... says Advani after Nandigram visit, reiterates call for Article 355
Comparing Wednesday's police and CPI(M) atrocity at Nandigram in West Bengal to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Leader of the Opposition LK Advani on Saturday reiterated his demand that the Union Government must invoke Article 355 of the Constitution to deal with the situation.Â
Advani's remarks followed a visit by a team of NDA MPs to the affected villages of Nandigram. The team, led by Advani, comprised Sushma Swaraj, George Fernandes, SS Ahluwalia, Dinesh Trivedi and Mukul Roy.
<b>"I have never seen such a horrific situation in my life where women and children offering puja were fired upon indiscriminately," </b>Advani said, seeking the Prime Minister's intervention to ensure an impartial investigation by the CBI that is probing the incident.
<b>"I found cases where neither the police nor the CBI is speaking to victims of rape. I met two such women who complained of having been raped, but their charges have not been registered by the police," </b>he said, adding, "I would request the Prime Minister to ensure an impartial inquiry into the matter."
Invoking images of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Advani said in Nandigram the police had aimed at the chests and bellies of the victims, including women who were offering puja. He said the Marxist Government in West Bengal was no better than the British colonial regime.
Advani, visibly moved by his visit to Nandigram where he spoke to a large number of victims, said people will not forgive the Marxists for Wednesday's massacre and history will not forget such a macabre incident, unheard of anywhere else in the country.
Â
Senior BJP MP Sushma Swaraj and NDA convener George Fernandes said the CPI(M)-led Left Front Government had "forfeited its right to be the people's representative".
Ignoring threats from Marxist cadre, more than 6,000 villagers had gathered at Sonachura Bazaar to meet the NDA leaders. They demanded the "most severe punishment" for Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Chairman of the Haldia Development Authority Lakshman Seth, CPI(M) MP, holding them responsible for the massacre.
Accusing the Chief Minister of unleashing a reign of terror in the name of industrialisation, Advani said, "The villagers went to the extent of demanding capital punishment for the Chief Minister." The NDA team met victims of the police firing at Sonachura village before visiting the injured at Nandigram and Tamluk district hospital.
Pointing out that Left Front constituents and veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu had condemned the police action, Advani said the Government had forfeited its right to rule West Bengal, "particularly after the Governor and the High Court condemned the brutal killing of innocent people."
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said, "We shall intensify our agitation in the coming days to press our demand which will begin with 'Nandigram Day' on Sunday and a subsequent march to the State Assembly on March 23." <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What is this puja connection?
Saugar Sengupta | Kolkata
... says Advani after Nandigram visit, reiterates call for Article 355
Comparing Wednesday's police and CPI(M) atrocity at Nandigram in West Bengal to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Leader of the Opposition LK Advani on Saturday reiterated his demand that the Union Government must invoke Article 355 of the Constitution to deal with the situation.Â
Advani's remarks followed a visit by a team of NDA MPs to the affected villages of Nandigram. The team, led by Advani, comprised Sushma Swaraj, George Fernandes, SS Ahluwalia, Dinesh Trivedi and Mukul Roy.
<b>"I have never seen such a horrific situation in my life where women and children offering puja were fired upon indiscriminately," </b>Advani said, seeking the Prime Minister's intervention to ensure an impartial investigation by the CBI that is probing the incident.
<b>"I found cases where neither the police nor the CBI is speaking to victims of rape. I met two such women who complained of having been raped, but their charges have not been registered by the police," </b>he said, adding, "I would request the Prime Minister to ensure an impartial inquiry into the matter."
Invoking images of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Advani said in Nandigram the police had aimed at the chests and bellies of the victims, including women who were offering puja. He said the Marxist Government in West Bengal was no better than the British colonial regime.
Advani, visibly moved by his visit to Nandigram where he spoke to a large number of victims, said people will not forgive the Marxists for Wednesday's massacre and history will not forget such a macabre incident, unheard of anywhere else in the country.
Â
Senior BJP MP Sushma Swaraj and NDA convener George Fernandes said the CPI(M)-led Left Front Government had "forfeited its right to be the people's representative".
Ignoring threats from Marxist cadre, more than 6,000 villagers had gathered at Sonachura Bazaar to meet the NDA leaders. They demanded the "most severe punishment" for Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Chairman of the Haldia Development Authority Lakshman Seth, CPI(M) MP, holding them responsible for the massacre.
Accusing the Chief Minister of unleashing a reign of terror in the name of industrialisation, Advani said, "The villagers went to the extent of demanding capital punishment for the Chief Minister." The NDA team met victims of the police firing at Sonachura village before visiting the injured at Nandigram and Tamluk district hospital.
Pointing out that Left Front constituents and veteran Marxist Jyoti Basu had condemned the police action, Advani said the Government had forfeited its right to rule West Bengal, "particularly after the Governor and the High Court condemned the brutal killing of innocent people."
Meanwhile, Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee said, "We shall intensify our agitation in the coming days to press our demand which will begin with 'Nandigram Day' on Sunday and a subsequent march to the State Assembly on March 23." <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
What is this puja connection?