Kolkata, Mar 24: Trinamool Congress Chief Mamata Banerjee has sought action against West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee over the recent killings of 14 persons in police firing at Nandigram.
Mamata called upon the Centre to intervene in the matter.
"(Prime Minister) Manmohan (Singh) people are the real asset of the people you are in power with. So, you should control the strings. Just like Narendra Modi, the chief of Gujarat, has his hands in the infamous Godhra riots, the chief minister of Bengal has his hands in the riots in Nandigram and Singur. Why is it that action should not be taken against him? You should behave responsibly," Mamata said.
Police opened fire in Nandigram, 150 kilometers southwest of Kolkata, on March 14, on residents and political activists protesting land acquisition for Indonesian based Salim Group's proposed Special Economic Zone (SEZ) to be set up in the village.
In view of a rally called by the Trinamool Congress in Nandigram on Sunday, Bhattacharjee had on Friday held an emergency meeting of the State's top officials, directing them to take all necessary steps to prevent a recurrence of a Nandigram-like violence.
Following an all round outcry over the Nandigram killings and coming under pressure from the Left allies, the State Government later shelved the project.
The CBI, on Thursday submitted the Nandigram report to the Calcutta High Court. The agency has reportedly stated that outsiders along with the police fired at the people without provocation.
The report, which has not been made public, has concluded that .315 bore bullets, used in country-made guns, were used by the outsiders to kill some persons, who were on the 'hit list'.
Critics say that instead of public consultation, an 1894 colonial-era land law was manipulated to "acquire" land.
The killings have become a national controversy with the Centre putting on hold the low-tax SEZs, touted as important for boosting India's industrial growth and closing the manufacturing gap with China.
At least eight strikes have been called in West Bengal in the past six months against the government's economic reforms.
