Kolkata, July 15 (IANS): The CPI-M Tuesday hit out at Mamata Banerjee saying as long as she was the chief minister of West Bengal, people accused of crime in her Trinamool Congress will remain untouched.
Referring to Banerjee and some top officials Thursday sharing the dais with Trinamool legislator Manirul Islam, the prime accused in the murders of three bothers in Birbhum in 2010, at a government programme in Bolpur, Leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra accused the chief minister of patronising criminals.
"By sharing the dais with people responsible for such heinous murders, she is giving a message loud and clear- so long as she is the chief minister, these elements will remain untouched," said Mishra after visiting Labhpur in Birbhum to meet the family of the three brothers.
Besides Islam, Trinamool Birbhum president Anubrata Mandal, who too is a murder accused, was present at the stage where a host of government officials were in attendance including Chief Secretary Sanjay Mitra, Home Secretary Basudeb Banerjee and Director General of Police G.M.P. Reddy.
Mishra also assured all help to the family which has approached the Calcutta High Court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation after police dropped Islam's name from the charge sheet filed four years after the incident.
"Still to come to terms with the horrific murders, the family is being continuously threatened and intimidated. The children have skipped school out of fear while the elders have to roam around for a livelihood.
"We have assured all help to ensure the family's fight for a CBI probe is fruitful," added the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) veteran.
Incidentally, Banerjee had in April too shared the stage with Islam and Mandal at a party programme.
A bench of the Calcutta High Court which was hearing a petition seeking the arrest of Mandal, accused in the murder of a local panchayat member, had taken judicial notice of the event.
The bench had repeatedly flayed the Banerjee government for not arresting Mandal, several of whose hate speeches have been videographed and widely broadcast and reported upon.