PTI: Despite local and state leaders of his party up in arms over the CRPF's alleged excesses on party supporters at Nandigram, CPI-M patriarch Jyoti Basu on Saturday strongly pitched for the presence of the Central forces there to restore peace.''We want the CRPF to be in Nandigram for some more time, though there is some criticism about the way they are dealing with the situation,'' Basu said after attending a meeting of the CPI-M state committee.
The CRPF is in Nandigram since early November following its ''recapture'' by armed CPI-M cadre from the Bhumi Ucched Pratirodh Committee.
The CRPF has denied the accusation of ''excesses'' and has said the charges have to be backed with proof for action to be taken.
Basu was also all praise for the chief minister for the way he conducted himself at his first rally in the heart of Nandigram on December 26, the first time he went to the area since trouble broke out there over land acquisition in early January.
''I gathered there was overwhelming response for the party rally addressed by chief minister there. The meeting was a success.''
Basu said the work in panchayats in Nandigram which was stalled all these months had to be expedited. ''There is a lot of money for development work in the area remaining unspent,'' he said.