Congress creating lawlessness to help CPI-M: Trinamool

Trinamool Congress on Friday fired a fresh salvo at the Congress, accusing it of trying to create lawlessness in the state in order to 'help' Communist Party of India-Marxist and warned that both government and the party would not tolerate it.

"The way Congress workers are organising daily dharnas or obstructing traffic on different issues, it is clear that their intention is to embarrass the government," Urban Development Minister Firhad 'Bobby' Hakim told mediapersons in Kolkata.

He took exception to the obstruction of traffic by Congress activists in different parts of the city over the assault of a college principal in North Dinajpur district following clashes between students of two rival student unions in the campus.

"We disapprove of such action by Congressmen to harass people by obstructing traffic on thoroughfares. We are keeping our patience. But the party and the government would not tolerate for much longer," he warned.

He alleged that the CPI-M in West Bengal has no issue to fight. Congress is deliberately whipping up tension and organising dharnas and obstructing roads over issues like renaming of Indira Bhavan and heckling of a college principal.

Hakim, who is known to be a close aide of Mamata, said, "Our party supremo and chief minister Mamata Banerjee is a broadminded person and there can be discussion if they
(Congress wanted to talk)".

He said that Trinamool Congress, which has 19 MPs and wanted the UPA government to run for five years as well as the alliance to continue, was in no mood to relent to the 'obstructionist politics' being resorted to by the state leadership.

"If we leave the government at the Centre, it will fall. But we want it to continue for five years. We hope that AICC will not allow the state leaders to act like poet Kalidas of cutting the same branch that they are sitting on," Hakim said.

Without naming Congress MP Deepa Dasmunshi, a known Mamata baiter in the state Congress, he alleged that "anti-socials backed by the Congress MP was behind the incident" at Royganj, a charge denied by the Congress.

Sources in the state Congress put the blame entirely on the Trinamool for the heckling of the Royganj College principal and said the attack on Thursday was "shameful and should have been condemned by the chief minister".

The police on Friday arrested nine persons for assaulting principal Dilip De Sarkar in North Dinajpur district at his office and damaging college property.

The attack followed a clash between workers of the Trinamool Chhatra Parishad and Chhatra Parishad over collection of nomination papers for the students' union election, SP Dipankar Bhattacharjee said.

Sarkar claimed that Trinamool Chhatra Parishad members were involved in the attack after he refused to postpone the college election as demanded by them.

Hakim said that police was enquiring into the incident and the matter would be dealt with impartially.

"We condemn such incident of attack on the college principal," he said and claimed that none of those arrested belonged to Trinamool Congress.