CPM peasants' wing activists set for Nabanna gherao movement

KOLKATA: CPM's peasants wing on Wednesday said that their activists will march to the state administrative headquarters at Nabanna on Thursday at any cost to submit a memorandum to the chief minister highlighting their demands.

At the same time, the peasants wing leaders also said that police would be responsible for any untoward incident on Thursday. "We had announced our Nabanna gherao movement long ago and we will try to reach the state headquarters at any cost. If any untoward incident takes place, the police will have to bear responsibilities for that," peasants wing leader Madan Ghosh said on Wednesday.

This is for the first time that the Opposition Marxists are going to gherao (block) the state headquarters after Mamata Banerjee became chief minister in 2011.

Even though the CPM is determined to gherao the state headquarters at any cost, the Marxists on Wednesday responded positively to an appeal made by the Kolkata Police which urged them not to assemble near Victoria Memorial on Thursday as the vice-president Mohammad Hamid Ansari will be visiting Kolkata on Thursday and his convoy will be passing through the area.

"We have changed our previous plan and will not assemble near Victoria Memorial following an appeal from the Kolkata Police which informed us that the vicepresident will be in town on Thursday and his convoy will pass through the Victoria Memorial.We will march to Nabanna from four points -two each from Kolkata and Howrah. Two areas from where our procession will march to Nabanna from Kolkata are Rani Rashmoni Road and Kidderpore.Our activists from Santragachi and Howrah station will march to Nabanna also," Ghosh informed.

CPM state secretary and Opposition leader Surjya Kanta Mishra will lead a procession from Rani Rashmoni Road and party MP Md.Salim will lead the other from Kidderpore.

Meanwhile, chief minister Mamata Banerjee is touring North Bengal and will be back in Kolkata on Thursday. But senior officials on Wednesday could not give any clue whether the chief minister will be at Nabanna on Thursday when the CPM will gherao the state headquarters. Ghosh claimed that they would not submit memorandum to anyone else other than the chief minister.

Elaborate police arrangements have been made to thwart the Nabanna gherao by the CPM.