Lalgarh was all stage-managed by CPI-M, claims Mamata

October 10th, 2009 KOLKATA - Deploying paramilitary forces in West Bengal's violence-hit Lalgarh was a "mistake" committed by the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, Railway Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said Saturday. I still think that the Lalgarh operation was a mistake.

July 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Home Minister P. Chidambaram on Thursday said that violence at Lalgarh should stop immediately.

July 27th, 2009 BASAPARA - The centre has directed West Bengal to ensure fool-proof security arrangements for a high-profile Trinamool Congress delegation that is to visit trouble-torn Lalgarh area Tuesday, party chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said. Disclosing this Monday at a rally in this Birbhum district area, Banerjee said she had informed the centre about the visit of a three-member party delegation to Lalgarh in West Midnapore district.

July 22nd, 2009 KOLKATA - Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee Wednesday demanded an end to the joint security operation against Maoist rebels in the trouble-torn belt of Lalgarh in West Bengal. "The joint operation should stop," Banerjee said and emphasised the need for talks with Maoists to solve the issue.

July 3rd, 2009 KOLKATA - Trinamool Congress chief and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Friday lost no opportunity to needle West Bengal's ruling Left Front when she proposed a new rail line from Singur to Nandigram and sops for Lalgarh - areas in the state that have witnessed violent anti-Left agitations. Exhibiting shrewd political sense in her wide array of proposals for West Bengal in the 2009-10 rail budget, arguably the highest sops the state has got since independence, Banerjee Friday let go no opportunity to woo her votebank with an eye to the 2011 state polls.

June 29th, 2009 KOLKATA - The central government should carry out a statewide operation by deploying central forces to recover illegal firearms from different parts of West Bengal, Railways Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said here Monday. "The Centre should take up this responsibility and conduct operations to recover illegal firearms from across the state," she said.

June 22nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Monday defended his decision to despatch the Central forces to Lalgarh in West Bengal, signifying Centre's commitment to provide security personnel to any state government which requests for them. "If any state government requests for paramilitary or other Central forces to tackle difficult law and order situations by following constitutional norms, the Central government will send them," said Pranab Mukherjee.

June 22nd, 2009 JANGIPUR - The Congress would sort out through talks its misunderstandings with partner Trinamool Congress on the operations against Maoists in West Bengal's Lalgarh area, Finance Minister and Congress leader Pranab Mukherjee said here Monday. Mukherjee said he would speak to Trinamool Congress chief and Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee, who has expressed her unhappiness over being kept in the dark on the operations carried out by the central and state security forces in West Midnapore's Lalgarh area.

June 21st, 2009 KOLKATA - The West Bengal government Sunday appealed to central and state ministers, NGOs, intellectuals and journalists to stay away from the troubled zone of Lalgarh saying it was not in a position to provide security to them in view of Maoist activities in the area. "The central and state security forces are there.

June 21st, 2009 MIDNAPORE - Two central ministers of state were Sunday obstructed allegedly by Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) activists at Salboni in West Midnapore district when they were going to troubled areas with relief for people who have fled homes after the security operation began at Lalgarh. Minister of State for Rural Development Sisir Adhikari and Minister of State for Shipping Mukul Roy, both from the Trinamool Congress, had driven to Salboni on way to Pirakata and Goaltore following instructions of party chief, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee.

June 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - With combing operations against Maoists in Lalgarh reaching a critical stage, Home Minister P. Chidambaram Sunday appealed to political leaders and NGOs not to venture to the conflict zone in West Bengal.

June 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal's principal opposition party Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Saturday said Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee "is a bigger Maoist" and threatened a stir if allegations that her party had links with leftwing rebels were not withdrawn. "We will wait for 48 hours.

June 15th, 2009 KOLKATA - An office of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) was torched Monday and 2,000 of its cadres were forced to flee West Bengal's troubled Lalgarh in West Mindapore district after clashes with a tribal body. The tribals, led by the People's Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), also allegedly set afire the house of Anuj Pandey - a top CPI-M leader in Lalgarh - and also forced the police to wind up three camps set up in the area.

March 25th, 2009 KOLKATA - Police will carry out a combing operation to sniff out Maoist rebels from the tribal-dominated Lalgarh region of West Bengal before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, an official said Wednesday. 'We will be sending police forces to Lalgarh before the April-May elections to search out Maoists guerrillas in the region so that polls can be conducted in the district peacefully,' West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen told reporters here.

March 2nd, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal state Congress president Pranab Mukherjee and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Sunday night held talks to forge an alliance between the two parties for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. Senior Congress leader K.