The Centre has warned Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee against making common cause with the Communist Party of India (Maoist) as this would open the floodgates for armed insurgents to enter politics in a big way and pose a serious law-and-order problem in West Bengal in the days to come.
Home minister P Chidambaram reportedly broached the subject when he met Mamata last week to explain the evolving law and order situation in the state. She was reportedly apprised of “reliable” intelligence inputs on ultra left wing cadres’ plan to infiltrate her party in a big way to reclaim the political space they are fast losing.
The issue of Trinamool getting closer to Maoists to politically weaken the CPM-led Left Front has assumed further significance following the arrest of ultra left wing ideologue Chhatradhar Mahato by West Bengal Police.
The ruling Left Front had alleged that Mahato was working in close proximity with Trinamool to weaken it ahead of the state assembly elections and had a hand in fomenting trouble in Nandigram over land acquisition for industry.
Highly-placed home ministry sources said Mamata was told to deal with the political situation pragmatically as there was a lurking danger of left wing insurgents taking undue advantage of the situation and instigating people to create a Nandigram-like situation under the cover of Trinamool.
She was also told to closely monitor the changing strategy of Maoists who were itching to come to the political forefront in West Bengal, particularly after the ruling Left Front’s dismal performance in the recent Lok Sabha and civic elections.
There is a growing feeling in the home ministry that Mamata is trying to ride a tiger that could create problems in the long run. The Centre is more worried about the situation that would arise in the event of the CPM-led Front losing the assembly election. In such a situation, frustrated Front cadres could inflate ultra left ranks, giving a further fillip to their activities.
The Congress and Trinamool are still to discuss the issue at the political level, but the home ministry’s initiative to caution Mamata is being described as a calibrated step by the UPA to pre-empt certain future developments.
