Government gives in to Mamata over Naxals

New Delhi: The President's address to Parliament is usually a routine affair, setting out the government's agenda. But NDTV has learnt that Pratibha Patil's speech for the next session of Parliament, which starts later this month, has been a political challenge.

The Cabinet, which met on Thursday, had to change the President's speech, which made references to Naxal violence in West Bengal. Because of objections by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee, those references have now been deleted.

The President's address will instead condemn Naxal violence across the entire country. Banerjee said that if the speech were to refer to Naxal violence in her home state, a mention of the ruling Left government's alleged atrocities in Bengal would also be required.

However, the Centre formally rejected Banerjee's charge that the Bengal government is to blame for the state's Naxal violence.