AiFB rules out quitting Left Front over Dinhata incident

Kolkata, Feb 6 (UNI) West Bengal Forward Bloc secretary Ashok Ghosh today dismissed reports that it may walk out of the ruling Left Front in the state in the wake of killing of five Bloc members in police firing at Dinhata.

''We need to be in the Front to continue our fight for the people,'' Mr Ghosh said while addressing a press meet here.

He said there was no question of quitting the Front now and the party's ''secretarial meeting'' earlier today did not take up such matter.

He, however, described as ''unprovoked'' and ''pre-meditated'' the firing on unarmed partymen, and said the Left Front government could not be run by police force.

Altogether six people, including a policeman, were killed in the police firing and subsequent violence at Dinhata's SDO office yesterday.

Mr Ghosh described the Dinhata incident as a ''replay'' of Nandigram where 14 people were killed also in the police firing on March 14.

''Now we must ensure that no third Nandigram happens,'' Mr Ghosh said adding on both occasions police fired on the people unprovoked.

He said the ruling Left Front, which was formed in late 70s by four Left parties in West Bengal, was passing through a critical phase.

''How a government could run like this when people have so much hatred for the Front, formed on an ideology of social justice and equal opportunity to all,'' asked the octogenarian leader.

''After so many years in the government, now its police are killing our own partymen,'' Mr Ghosh wondered.

He said the Left Front constituents should understand that a government could not be run by the police force.

He said the Left Front was not a one party government, and therefore no single party could overstep its limit, adding the party would take further course of action after a secretary-level meeting on Saturday.

The AIFB secretariat today decided to give Rs three lakh each to the family of the slain five partymen.

Party leader Debabrata Biswas will hand over the cheques to the bereaved family members on February 11.

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