Mediator role for Mamata? CPM wants a neutral party

With speculation doing the round that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee may be given the responsibility of mediating talks between the Centre and the Maoists, the CPM has expressed its reservations about the Railway Minister’s possible role and called for the appointment of a neutral person

“A mediator can be appointed to resolve tensions between two hostile groups. Here, the two hostile parties are Government of India and the Maoists. How can a person, who is part of the Central government, be made the mediator to resolve the problem,” CPM spokesperson Md Selim told The Sunday Express.

“We have certain legal question regarding the reports of possible appointment of Mamata Banerjee as the mediator, and the Prime Minister will have to reply to it,” he added. At the Lalgarh rally, held this week, Banerjee’s call for talks with the Maoists and at the same time questioning the killing of Maoist leader Chirukuri Rajkumar alias Azad had give rise to speculations that Banerjee may be asked to mediate into the problem.

The CPM, meanwhile, is also planning to take a legal recourse to Banerjee’s questioning of Azad’s killing in a fake encounter. The party feels that Banerjee who is also a part of the Union Cabinet has deviated from the Constituional directives by making that remark.

For the past few days, top CPM leaders like Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Biman Bose discussed the matter with reputed advocates, including former Kolkata Mayor Bikash Bhattacharjee and state Law Minister Rabilal Moitra.