Will probe Left’s mass killings: Mamata

KOLKATA - Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Sunday said she will conduct a proper enquiry into various mass killings during the three-decade long Left rule in West Bengal if her party was voted to power in the upcoming state elections.

We will conduct enquiry into all the mass killings starting from Nandigram to Singur and other killings that was perpetuated during this Left rule in Bengal. We will give justice to the people of Bengal, Banerjee said at a rally here.

The CPI-M (Communist Party of India-Marxist), when they came to power in 1977, had said they would conduct enquiry into the killing of Forward Bloc leader Hemanta Bose and mass killing in Cossipore area during the 70s. But they have not done it. We will do it when we come to power, she said.

The CPI-M led Left Front, in power since 1977, has been defeated by the Trinamool Congress in a series of elections since 2009 Lok Sabha polls.

Trinamool and the Congress combine, along with Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI), bagged 26 out of the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the 2009 polls.

Banerjee also said the new state government led by Trinamool will take up various administrative reforms and development projects for the common people of Bengal.

She also wooed the Muslim community, which constitutes about 28 percent of the state electorate.

We will call (former justice Rajindar) Sachar and ask him to analyse the situation of Muslims and will do whatever suggested to uplift their condition. This Left Front government has done nothing for the community in the state, she said.

She also slammed the West Bengal’s ruling Marxists for being “equally responsible” for the price rise of essentials.

“We do not support inflation. But the state government is equally responsible for the price rise of essentials in the state as there are large of taxes being imposed by it,” Banerjee said.

“We do not support price rise that is why I as railway minister have never raised the passenger fares in Railways,” she said.

Trinamool is the second largest alliance partner of the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government at the centre.