Kolkata:
The West Bengal government is trying to contain the fallout of the prisoner swap for the release of West Bengal policeman Atindranath Dutta.
A day after the cop's release, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said, "Freeing prisoners is not part of our policy or mission," adding that he is trying to get Maoists out of West Bengal.
He was speaking on the controversial remarks made by state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen, comparing the prisoner exchange with Kandahar. The chief minister clarified that those were the Home Secretary's own views which he should not have expressed.
Earlier, West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen had reportedly said that there was no other option but to give in to the Naxals demand for releasing 22 suspects.
Justifying the decision, the Home Secretary had said that India is a soft state, and that there are precedents in the past. He cited the release of militants in the Kandahar hijack case and the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case.
The state government has come under sharp criticism for the deal, and New Delhi is reportedly upset over not being consulted before the swap.
Speaking to reporters, Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that the Centre was not consulted in the decision to swap prisoners.
"They did not seek my advice nor was I required to offer them any advice. They are the best judges of what was required to be done in that situation. They have taken the decision. Whether it is the right one or wrong one only time will tell," Chidambaram had said.
So, now under fire for these comments from both the Center and the chief minister, Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen attempted some damage control.
"There is absolutely no difference between government of India and the West Bengal government when iot comes to dealing with Naxals. We also remain firm that there will be no talk with them unless they abjure violence," he said.
So far not talking to the Centre is concerned, it means we don't discuss developments with them, what should be done in Lalgarh, about education, electricity etc, Sen added.
The Home Secretary also said that his comments were about a particular incident and do not mean a departure from policy.
"Whenever such instances occur, people begin talks of whether India is a soft state or a hard state, and compare it with China. But the point is that it's not that we act according to some pre-set policy, we take each incident on its merit and we deal with the problem case by case," he said.
Reacting sharply, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said the Kandahar episode cannot be compared with the prisoner swap that the West Bengal government has been involved with for the release of kidnapped cop, Attindranath Dutta.
Meanwhile, Dutta, the kidnapped cop who was released to the media by the Naxals after 54 hours in captivity said Naxalism is a serious threat to internal security.
A day after the cop's release, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said, "Freeing prisoners is not part of our policy or mission," adding that he is trying to get Maoists out of West Bengal.
He was speaking on the controversial remarks made by state Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen, comparing the prisoner exchange with Kandahar. The chief minister clarified that those were the Home Secretary's own views which he should not have expressed.
Earlier, West Bengal Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen had reportedly said that there was no other option but to give in to the Naxals demand for releasing 22 suspects.
Justifying the decision, the Home Secretary had said that India is a soft state, and that there are precedents in the past. He cited the release of militants in the Kandahar hijack case and the Rubaiya Sayeed kidnapping case.
The state government has come under sharp criticism for the deal, and New Delhi is reportedly upset over not being consulted before the swap.
Speaking to reporters, Home Minister P Chidambaram had said that the Centre was not consulted in the decision to swap prisoners.
"They did not seek my advice nor was I required to offer them any advice. They are the best judges of what was required to be done in that situation. They have taken the decision. Whether it is the right one or wrong one only time will tell," Chidambaram had said.
So, now under fire for these comments from both the Center and the chief minister, Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen attempted some damage control.
"There is absolutely no difference between government of India and the West Bengal government when iot comes to dealing with Naxals. We also remain firm that there will be no talk with them unless they abjure violence," he said.
So far not talking to the Centre is concerned, it means we don't discuss developments with them, what should be done in Lalgarh, about education, electricity etc, Sen added.
The Home Secretary also said that his comments were about a particular incident and do not mean a departure from policy.
"Whenever such instances occur, people begin talks of whether India is a soft state or a hard state, and compare it with China. But the point is that it's not that we act according to some pre-set policy, we take each incident on its merit and we deal with the problem case by case," he said.
Reacting sharply, BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said the Kandahar episode cannot be compared with the prisoner swap that the West Bengal government has been involved with for the release of kidnapped cop, Attindranath Dutta.
Meanwhile, Dutta, the kidnapped cop who was released to the media by the Naxals after 54 hours in captivity said Naxalism is a serious threat to internal security.
