Mamata demands CBI probe into blood kit scam

Kolkata, Oct 27 (UNI) Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee today demanded a CBI inquiry into the blood kit scam and announced launch of a ''non-cooperation'' movement against the Left Front Government in protest against the Singur land deal for Tata Motors' small car factory.

Describing Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as a ''hybrid Communist'', Ms Banerjee alleged that the Government played a supportive role while the CPI(M) was directly involved in the scam, that posed a dangerous threat to the health of many families in the state.

'' The scam would not have been possible without direct support of the Government. It is an international conspiracy...I demand that the Centre order a CBI inquiry into the whole affair and those guilty are exposed,'' she told the media at her residence.

Monozyme India, a Secundrabad-based company had allegedly supplied to Government hospitals in West Bengal expired blood test kits. The exposure triggered apprehension that thousands of units of contaminated blood could have been given to recipients as the faulty kits might have failed to detect infections.

Lashing out at the Chief Minister for giving a ''clean chit'' to Government officials in connection with the incident, Ms.Banerjee said her party would organise dharnas in front of blood banks on November 1 and stage demonstrations in front of municipal and BDO offices throughout the state on November 2.

Calling for a ''Bangla Bachao'' alliance of different political parties, the Trinamool leader also declared that she would lead a people's ''non-cooperation'' with the administration at Singur starting on November 5 in protest against changing the character of agricultural land. She, however, did not elaborate on the form of the propsed non-cooperation.

Her party would also organise a march from Kolkata to Singur on November 17 on the line of Mahatma Gandhi's '' Dandi March''. This will kickstart similar programmes in different districts for two months to sustain the movement on the land issue.

'' We will contact other political parties in the country and apprise them of the situation in the state. We welcome support to our movement even from Left Front partners,'' she said.

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