Centre should probe Salboni mine blast: Mamata

Centre should probe Salboni mine blast: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): The Trinamool Congress on Monday demanded that the Centre probe the mine explosion at Salboni shortly after West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan passed through the area in West Midnapore district.

"If it was really a landmine explosion, we condemn it. We want Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to live. We urge the Centre to investigate the blast," Banerjee told a public meeting here before taking out a procession here to protest the alleged violence by the CPI(M) on Sunday when she visited Singur.

The CPI(M), she claimed, had wanted to prevent her from going to Singur. "Will the CPI(M) decide where I go and where I hold a meeting?"

Claiming that the police had remained a mute spectator when CPI(M) cadre were indulging in violence at Singur yesterday, she said she would counter the marxists politically.

Banerjee said that if her party did not have the people's support, she could not have held the meeting at Singur.

Accusing the CPI(M) of projecting her as "anti-industry", Banerjee said if this was so, the foundation stone laying ceremony of the JSW's proposed steel plant at Salboni yesterday "would not have taken place".

She reiterated her demand that the agreement between the West Bengal government and Tata Motors for their Nano plant at Singur be made public.

Centre seeks report on security lapses during VIP visit
New Delhi (PTI): In the wake of some lapses on part of the West Bengal Police ahead of the landmine attack on Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan in Maoist-infested Midnapore district on Sunday, the Centre on Monday sought a detailed report from the state government on the incident.

Union Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta admitted that there were "callousness" and "lapse", sources said security drill was not ensured by West Bengal Police ahead of the visit of the two dignitaries to Midnapore. "We have sought a report from the West Bengal government on the incident. Definitely there were callousness on someone's part...some security lapse were there," Gupta told reporters here.

Describing the landmine attack on Bhattacharjee and Paswan as a "serious matter", Gupta said there was need to be more careful on the part of the security agencies. "One needs to be much more careful," he said.

Sources in the Home Ministry said the police did not carry out the basic road opening exercise, a mandatory security drill, ahead of the VIP arrival or departure from a foundation-laying ceremony of a steel project. The remote-controlled mine was exploded at Salboni shortly after Bhattacharjee had passed through that area and Paswan was approaching the point in Jhargram district, adjacent to Midnapore.

While state Home Secretary A M Chakraborty said it was not a timer but a remote controlled device used to trigger the blast, Union Home Ministry officials were surprised that the West Bengal Police had not sent a Road opening Party (RoP) ahead of the VIP visit.