Kolkata: The gloves are off in the fight between Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Left Front over alleged links with Maoist rebels.

"I think that the Marxists and the Maoists are both sides of the same coin. They are working together," said Banerjee at a press conference in Kolkata on Sunday.

The Trinamool Congress chief alleged the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads West Bengal’s Left Front government, took help of the Maoists and believed in violence like the rebels. "If Maoists are to be banned, why not the CPI-M which is also carrying out armed operations in the state?"


She called West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee "both a Marxist and Maoist with a double face" and accused of him of not helping two state policemen who have been missing since July 30 and are believed to have been kidnapped by Maoists.


"The Union Home Minister had said that the Centre is willing to help in the search of these two policemen. I want to know why they are not being looked for even after this. Does not the Chief Minister have the responsibility to look for them?" she said.


Bhattacherjee had on Friday alleged the Trinamool Congress was conspiring with Maoist rebels to dislodge his government.


Bhattacherjee alleged the Railway Police’s failure to name Maoists in the FIR lodged for the hijacking of the Rajdhani Express train on October 27 proved this.


"The Trinamool Congress is working with the Maoists to finish the Left Front. They think that they would be able to dislodge the Left Front government by joining hands with Maoists. We will unmask the Trinamool and the Maoist. We take up the challenge," he said.


The Maoist-backed PCAPA (People's Committee Against Police Atrocities) on Tuesday allegedly held up the Rajdhani Express for more than four hours at Banstala Halt near West Midnapore's Jhargram station.


The over 500-PCAPA members squatted on the tracks and forced out the train's drivers at the halt station near the Antapani jungle.


After several tension-filled hours, which saw a police team proceeding to the spot ambushed by the Left wing rebels, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troopers and state policemen finally took over the train.


None of the passengers was injured. The train reached New Delhi on Wednesday night, almost seven hours late.

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