Left parties ask EC to seal West Bengal''s borders with states

New Delhi, Feb 7 (PTI) Left parties today approachedthe Election Commission demanding that West Bengal''s borderswith other states be sealed during the coming Assembly pollsthere to ensure that Maoists do not trigger violence.

A six-member delegation led by CPI(M) leader SitaramYechury met the Election Commissioners and apprised them oftheir apprehension about Maoists'' plan. Niloptapl Basu(CPI-M), D Raja and Manohar Tirkey (CPI), Abani Roy (RSP) andBarun Mukherjee (Forward Bloc) were the other members.

"If you want a peaceful, free and fair election, thenit is imperative that the state borders are sealed. Thestrategy of the Maoists are to strike and go back," Yechurytold reporters here after meeting.

"Given the terrain on the bordering states likeJharkhand, Orissa and Bihar, it is imperative that the bordersare sealed," he said, adding, they have asked the Commissionto send a team to the state to study the violence allegedlyperpetrated by "Trinamool-Maoist" combine.

"They come, they attack and kill and then escapeto other states. It took 20 years to catch smuggler Veerappan.

He used to change his hideouts in three states. That is theadvantage of forests. Unless there is a coordinated action,the problem cannot be solved," he said.

He claimed that 274 Left Front activists were killedby Trinamool-Maoist combine in the state in the recent years.

Yechury also said that the delegation asked theElection Commission to pay "special attention" in Darjeelingwhere during the last elections, "90 per cent of the voteswere polled in one direction".

Asked whether it was the failure of the stateadministration in containing Maoist voilence in the state, hesaid the areas from where Maoist-Trinamool violence isreported is manned by joint security forces of the Centre andState.