Jama Masjid Shahi Imam to carry peace message in Nandigram

Kolkata, Jun 11 (UNI) As the Nandigram flames refuse to die down, the Shahi Imam of Delhi's Jama Masjid, Moulana Syed Ahmed Bukhari, will visit the trouble-torn area tomorrow carrying a peace message of Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee.

''I will visit Nandigram tomorrow assuring the people that there is no need for agitation because the state Government has no intention to acquire farm land there,'' he told reporters after a meeting with the Chief Minister at the State Secretariat.

The Imam said he would also convey to the local people the regret Mr Bhattacharjee expressed on the Nandigram incident.

The Imam's visit is significant in the background of the major role of Jamait-E-Ulema-I-Hind in putting up a stiff opposition to any land acquisition move and mobilising the opinion of a large number of local farmers, including those belonging to the minority community.

Meanwhile, reports of evicted CPI(M) supporters being prevented from coming back home continued to trickle down even as the Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said this would not hamper the ongoing peace process.

''There are reports of sporadic violence and tension prevailing in some areas. But this will not affect the peace process,'' he told reporters.

UNI