Delhi is no longer safe, says Mamata before leaving for Kolkata

After cancelling her meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P Chidambaram after being heckled by protesters outside the Planning Commission headquarters to  return to Kolkata, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said that the nation’s capital was no longer safe. Banerjee said that the police refused to help her and her ministers after the SFI activists attacked them outside Planning Commission. “We asked them to open the gate, but they refused. They said they did not have permission,” she said. She said that the Prime Minister had expressed regret over the incident, but she could not meet him because of her ill-health. Calling the CPI(M) a ‘party of drama’ and ‘hypocrites’, Banerjee said that while they were protesting against the death of 22-year-old SFI leader Sudipta Gupto and the so-called ‘state violence’, they were also resorting to violence. “Trinamool cadre was peaceful, the ruckus was created by CPM,” Banerjee said. [caption id=“attachment_693411” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee. PTI[/caption] “There is no bloodbath in Bengal today because of me,” she added. Media reports say that the Chief Minister was leaving because she was extremely upset over the protest held by a student union, Students Federation of India (SFI). After the incident, Banerjee was treated by doctors for elevated heartbeat, and later oxygen cylinders were dispatched to her hotel room after she complained of breathing difficulties. A livid Banerjee had screamed at the Planning Commission officials soon after the incident and questioned why adequate security wasn’t provided. The decision to leave the capital comes despite the Prime Minister personally calling her last evening and inquiring after her well being. He had also reportedly assured her that he had directed the concerned department to increase her security for the duration of her visit to Delhi. The incident triggered angry protests in West Bengal on Tuesday, and a number of CPI(M) and SFI offices had reportedly been attacked across the state. The TMC has denied being responsible for the protests in West Bengal, calling it a “natural reaction of the people”. Blaming the CPI(M) for the attack on Banerjee, Trinamool Congress MP Mukul Roy said that it was a ‘planned attack.’ “CPI(M) goons in the name of SFI manhandled Mamata Banerjee and Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra,” Roy told reporters. Left leader Sitaram Yechury said that the TMC is using the incident to unleash more violence and are trying to create terror prior to elections for local bodies being held in the state.  He said that the party was trying to distract people from the real issue, which was the custodial death of 22-year-old SFI leader Sudipto Gupta.