New Delhi:
Mamata Banerjee's controversial rally at Lalgarh again figured in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday with a BJP member asking Home Minister P Chidambaram if the government would take action against a leader who supports the Maoists.
Chidambaram was asked if the government would take action against those who appreciate anti-democratic movement in the Naxal areas and pay tribute to the harbingers of Naxalism. "Will the government let such people go scot-free if he or she is a minister or holds a powerful position?"
To this, Chidambaram replied, "To a question that is framed in such a general manner, the answer can also be in a general manner. No-one should support the CPI (Maoist) and the government would certainly not encourage anyone to support the CPI (Maoist)."
Banerjee's rally at Lalgarh had rocked Parliament on Monday too with an aggressive BJP and the Left joining hands to target the Trinamool Congress and seeking to embarrass the Centre over the Railway Minister's alleged hobnobbing with Maoists.
The BJP wanted suspension of Question Hour. It also wanted a statement from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Banerjee's rally on Monday where she allegedly supported Maoists and said the way Maoist leader Azad was killed was not right and asked for a probe into his death.
TRINAMOOL DENIES PCPA'S PRESENCE AT LALGARH RALLY
After drawing flak for the Lalgarh rally in which the Maoist front organisation, the People's Committee against Police Atrocities (PCPA) took part, Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress is in denial mode.
Speaking to NDTV's Prannoy Roy, senior Trinamool leader and Health Minister Dinesh Trivedi insisted it was not a joint rally with the Maoists.
"I want to challenge Arun Jaitley. He said there were wanted Maoists leaders around. Has he seen them? The Prime Minister of India has appealed to the separatists. Chidambaram has appreciated Geelani in Parliament. Does it mean that Chidambaram is a separatist? This rally wasn't organised by Maoists but by intellectuals," Trivedi said.
But as Mamata Banerjee and her party insist that her Lalgarh rally had no connection with the Maoist frontal organisation PCPA, pictures taken by television crews show otherwise. PCPA leader Manoj Mahato led people to the rally but stayed away from it. He said his presence might trigger police action.
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