New Delhi, Lalgarh, Kolkata: Serious questions have been raised over the last few days on the willingness of the West Bengal government in dealing with the CPI Maoists, the groups responsible for the insurgency in Lalgarh.
On Saturday, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya responded, saying he has started thinking about a ban.
Mamata Banerjie, for her part, has categorically denied allegations that Maoist forces in Lalgarh had links with her party, the Trinamul Congress.
In Lalgarh, paramilitary forces made successful inroads into the Maoist liberated zones. And in Delhi, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya drew up more comprehensive plan to deal with them on a more permanent basis.
First he met Home Minister P Chidambaram and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the growing influence of Maoists in his state.
"Chidambaram advised me to ban Maoists. I am thinking about it," said Buddhadeb.
Unlike his party, the CPM, the Chief Minister was careful in talking about Trinamul's role in the Lalgarh's stand-off.
Bite: Buddha..
"I know that the person who has formed a group called the People's Committee Against the Police Atrocities has close links with the Trinamul," he said.
The rebuttal was almost immediate.
"Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, you should know that Trinamul Congress is not Maoist," said Mamata Banerjee.
Almost two years ago, CPM had alleged that Maoists were at work in Nandigram, instigating people against the Left Front government in West Bengal. Yet, they did not ban the Maoists. Now, Lalgarh could be a turning point.