The Congress, in fact, has stepped up pressure on the Left even though the two parties are allies at the Center.
Sources said that the Center was in touch with the state and has assured it of all assistance needed to defuse the tension.
The Center has asked the West Bengal Government to speed up relief to the next of kin of the deceased and adequate care to the injured.
The State Government has also been asked to talk to all concerned so that peace and normalcy was restored in the area.
According to government sources, Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil has been briefed by West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya over phone on the situation in Nandigram.
Expressing anguish at the death of several persons in police firing at Nandigram in West Bengal, External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday said the incident was "very unfortunate."
"It is very, very unfortunate. A number of lives have been lost. Violence is not the way to resolve the issue (Protests against the acquisition of land for industries)," he said, adding, "The issue has to be resolved through dialogue."
Union Information and Broadcasting Minister, Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, has also condemned the violence alleging that a "civil war–like situation" has been created in the area with the help of security personnel.
After inspecting the site of violence, Dasmunshi bluntly accused the police of acting in tandem with CPI(M) activists to attack people and create such a situation.
"It is now clear that with the direct support of police, a civil war–like situation was created to liquidate people," he said. He also alleged that "police provided arms to CPI(M) activists which they had snatched from anti–socials to create such a situation."
Refusing to remain silent, Congress party president and UPA chairperson Ms. Sonia Gandhi has also expressed deep concern over the recurrence of violence in Nandigram where the State Government's decision to set up a SEZ has led to repeated clashes between the administration and locals.
On Wednesday, Sonia directed West Bengal Congress leaders to send her a report about the casualties and the situation in the area and to help those who were injured.
Concerned about the breakdown of law and order in Nandigram, West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi has also asked for a report from the government on the firing. "The thought uppermost on my mind, and that of all sensitive people is, 'Was this spilling of human blood not avoidable?'" said Governor Gandhi, a grandson of Indian independence leader and pacifist Mahatma Gandhi.
Noted social activist Medha Patkar has termed the Nandigram violence as a "pre–planned" and "deliberate" attempt of the West Bengal Government to foil the genuine people's movement against land acquisition for building SEZs.
"From the kind of force deployment and the earlier statements of the government, it is clear that the recent attack on the villagers was pre–determined and deliberate. It shows that the West Bengal Government has turned violent," she said.
Nation
Nandigram violence evokes nationwide protest, leaves WB Govt. red–faced
By: Jacob Chaterjee
Monday, 19 March 2007, 8:13 (IST)
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