Prove my links with Maoists, Mahasweta Devi tells Buddhadeb

KOLKATA - Countering West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjees allegations that the civil rights group she heads has Maoist links, Magsaysay Award winning writer Mahasweta Devi Thursday urged him to prove the allegations with evidence.

“I came to know from my junior colleagues that the chief minister Wednesday claimed that my organisation - Bondi Mukti Committee (BMC) - has links with Maoists. But I have never seen any Maoists,” said Mahasweta Devi.

“As a chief minister, Buddhadeb babu has immense power so I do humbly request him to prove that we has nexus with the Maoists. It is also his responsibility to unearth the true facts before the society,” she said.

Mahasweta Devi headed a mass sit-in demonstration participated by several city intellectuals at Esplanade in the central part of the city, demanding the release of rights activist Binayak Sen and Maoist ideologue Narayan Sanyal and Piyush Guha.

Sen, Sanyal and Kolkata-based businessman Piyush Guha were sentenced to life imprisonment Dec 24 after being held guilty of sedition and criminal conspiracy by a Chhattisgarh court.

The writer also accused the Chhattisgarh government of denying Sen adequate opportunity to challenge the courts verdict.

Criticising the state government for the prevalent political violence in the state, she said: “People of Bengal are tired of violence. They want the government to resign immediately.”

Eminent theatre personality Bivas Chakraborty making a sarcastic remark on the central government said: “People like Sen who work for humanity, are considered traitors and put behind bars while people who loot huge money in the name of telephone services and holding games are patriots,” in an obvious reference to the multi-million crore 2G spectrum and Commonwealth Games scams.