West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday said that his Government would reopen the 2007 cases of atrocities during Left Front regime in Nandigram, saying that the families of the victims of Left violence were still awaiting justice 19 years after the carnage that shook the conscience of the entire country.
Adhikari who was addressing a Nandigram martyrs’ day gathering near Tekhali Bazar one of the hotspots of the Nandigram anti-land grab movement said, “the victims are still awaiting justice 19 years after the Nandigram struggle … those who were responsible for the violence” during ‘operation sunrise’ “conducted by the CPI(M) cadres “ to reclaim control of Nandigram “must face law … I have said that fresh FIRs should be lodged … The CID conducted an investigation, but there was no trial.”
Alleging that the previous Trinamool Congress Government rode on the Nandigram movement to power “but soon forgot the people of the place who fought for them … I was involved in the Nandigram struggle and will ensure that the people of the place get justice.”
The Chief Minister named some of the Left leaders of those days like Abhay Ghosh of Goghat, Manoranjan Patra of Taldangra, Tapan Ghosh of Garbeta and Himangshu Das of Khejuri saying “the police will be asked to bring all the accused to book … no one will be allowed to go scot free.”
Bengal witnessed two violent anti-land grab movements from 2006 to 2011. The first one was in Singur against the alleged forced acquisition of land by the then Buddhadeb Bhattacharya Government for the construction of Tata Nano small car factory and the second one was at Nandigram where the peasants rose up in revolt against proposed acquisition of land by the same Government for a massive chemical hub.
As both the projects bombed in the face of peasant uprising led by former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee catapulting her to power and bringing about the fall of 34 year old Marxist Government in the State.
Adhikari, who hails from the same East Midnapore district where Nandigram is situated, led the movement from the front, functioning as Banerjee’s trusted companion in the area. The movement hit international headlines after 14 people were killed in a police firing.
Referring to the “dark era” Adhikari on Tuesday said, “Though Buddhadeb Babu was a good person his party was wrong” which was subsequently proven by the electoral mandate that went against it.
Meanwhile the CPI(M) leadership promptly took Adhikari’s announcement as a “complement” saying “it proves that the BJP and the Chief Minister is afraid of the Left resurgence … it also proves that we are walking the right path … let them do what they want to do we are ready to face things … so many other things will also come up in the process that will expose many hidden facts about the movement.”