Thaindian News

Kolkata, April 21 (IANS) Apprehending the flow of black money in poll-bound West Bengal, Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) general secretary Prakash Karat Thursday urged the poll panel to replicate the measures it had taken in Tamil Nadu to recover unaccounted money.

“The flow of illegal money is a serious matter. We have already seen this thing in Tamil Nadu. The Election Commission adopted special measures to recover that money. Due to those special measures, 50 crore of rupees was recovered and material worth Rs.20 crore were confiscated,” said Karat while addressing media persons here.

A large amount of unaccounted cash and articles worth over crores of rupees were recovered from Tamil Nadu by flying squads comprising Election Commission and Income Tax Department officials in the run-up to the April polls in the state.

The CPI-M led Left Front has also accused its main opponent Trinamool Congeress of using black money in its election campaign.

“We apprehend that this (black) money will also be used in Bengal. So we request the Election Commission to take those same measures taken in Tamil Nadu. These special measures are putting up check-posts at all major roads and highways. We request the EC to take those measures,” said Karat.

On the incident in Maharashtra’s Jaitapur where one person was killed in police firing on people protesting the 9,900 MW nuclear power plant to come up in the area, Karat said: “It is elementary that the government should take the public opinion.”

Asked whether the party had the same stand on the proposed nuclear power plant in Haripur in West Bengal, Karat replied: “All new nuclear plants should be stopped without any exception.”

Accusing the Trinamool Congress-Congress alliance of joining hands with communal and divisive forces in West Bengal, he warned that the alliance would bring back the bad old days of the 1970s in the state if it came to power.

“The Congress-Trinamool Congress combination actually has got a number of unofficial partners. If on one hand, they have the Maoists, on the other, there is the Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM),” Karat said.

“The collaboration between the Maoists and the Trinamool is in the open.”

“It was the Trinamool which enabled the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to set foot in Bengal. And now they have joined hands with the GJM. The other forces which demand division of the state have all lined up behind this combination.”

“After three decades of Left rule, Bengal is a bastion of communal harmony. There is danger of communalism getting back. We must beware of these communal and divisive forces,” added Karat.