Pradesh Congress appeal to Singh, Sonia to look into CBI inquiry

Kolkata, Mar 20 (UNI) West Bengal Pradesh Congress today appealed to the Congress High Command to ensure that the ongoing CBI inquiry into the Nandigram carnage was not being distorted or did not come under pressure from the ruling party.

Speaking to newsmen here today after staging a noisy walkout from the house, Congress Chief Whip Manas Bhunia said that he was faxing separate letters to Prime Minsiter Dr Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi seeking their immediate intervention in this 'serious matter'.

They alleged that pressure was being created on the 10-member CBI team which had started an on-the-spot inquiry into the causes of the March 14 Nandigram massacre in which 14 people had been killed and 71 injured.

Dr Bhunia said tremendous pressure had been created to influence the CBI inquiry team and several hurdles were being created in their inqiry procedures.

"We suspect that as a result of such pressure, the facts of this brutal incident could be distorted to a great extent," Dr Bhunia said and reiterated his appeal to the Congress leadership to take up the issue with utmost seriousness.

Earlier, coming down heavily on the role of Speaker Hashim Abdul Halim, both Dr Bhunia and opposition leader Partha Chatterjee of the Trinamool congress charged him with being totally partisan to the ruling party and said that he was not allowing any time to the entire opposition to raise not only the important issues of Nandigram and Singur, but also other issues.

Mr Chatterjee also charged the newly recruited watch-and-ward staff of the house as being CPI(M) cadres in disguise and demanded immediate cancellation of their appointments.

They even alleged that a few Trinamool Congress members were today assaulted and abused by them, while they were protesting against the speaker's ruling inside the well of the House.

UNI