The Hindu : Panja criticises Mamata

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Tuesday, Aug 06, 2002

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Panja criticises Mamata

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI AUG. 5. The dissident Trinamool Congress leader, Ajit Kumar Panja, today lost no time joining issue with the party president, Mamata Banerjee, over her approach to the current railway zones controversy and opposed the Bengal bandh called by her today.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Panja said the real reason for Ms. Banerjee's agitation was her "failure to become the Railway Minister." He criticised her statement against the Deputy Prime Minister, L.K. Advani, and said: "The utterances are mean-minded and against the heritage, culture and noble traditions of Bengal''.

He said the core committee of his faction noted Ms. Banerjee's remarks against the Railway Minister, Nitish Kumar, alleging that the latter was backed by the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister in the Railway bifurcation issue as a "reward for suppressing facts regarding Godhra train arson''. "This statement is also defamatory and derogatory and ''we (core committee) have not taken such statements lightly''.

While conveying his opposition to the bandh, Mr. Panja said that it was not only illegal but also unconstitutional as per a Supreme Court judgment that political parties or other organisations are liable to compensate the Government, the public and the private citizen for loss due to destruction and that the State could not shirk its responsibility of taking steps to recoup and of recouping loss from the organisers of such bandhs

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Panja criticises Mamata