West Bengal govt may ban Maoists: BuddhadeB

New Delhi, June 20 (PTI)India's eastern state West Bengal
government is considering banning the CPI (Maoists) after
governments suggestion to the state government in this regard
following the Naxal violence in Lalgarh.

"Home Minister Chidamabarm advised me to ban this
organisation. We have to give it a serious thought," West
Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee told reporters
after meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chidambaram.

"We have started thinking what to do," he said.

Chidambaram had Friday said that the state government
should ban the Maoists. "We think they (Maoists) should be
banned in West Bengal as in other states," he had said.

Bhattacharjee said the Home Minister assured him that if
the state government required more forces, he would be ready
to send them. The West Bengal government has already deployed
about 1,300 personnel of CRPF and about 600 BSF men.

The state police and the other security forces were
working in tandem against the Naxals in Lalgarh, he said.

When asked whether a parallel government was being run
by the Maoists in Lalgarh, the Chief Minister said "I have no
answer on this."

At the same time, he alleged that "Trinamool Congress has
strong links with the group of so-called People's Committee
against Police Terror" active in Lalgarh.

"The leader of the group Chhatradhar Mahato is very much
a member of Trinamool Congress," he claimed.

Maintaining that out of 241 blocks in the state, 18 were
"fully or partially disturbed", Bhattacharjee accused the
Maoists of killing innocent citizens and engaging in extortion
and many other crimes with the locals suffering heavily.

To questions on the situation in Lalgarh, he said "the
first column of central paramilitary forces has already
reached there" and added that the area police station was
never taken over by the Maoists.

"We already have about a column or 100 policemen
stationed there," the Chief Minister said.

Expressing happiness over the Centre's prompt response in
sending paramilitary forces to the state, he said the Home
Minister "assured me that if we want more forces, he is ready
to send them."

Bhattacharjee said the state police and the central
forces were carrying out a joint campaign against the Maoists.

"It will take some time to get rid of the Maoist menace
and we will continue the campaign," he said. PTI ARC
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