Priya flays govt on Nandigram

MALDA, May 11: The Union minister for information and broadcasting Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi today staged a dharna at Netaji More in English Bazaar town in protest against the administrative decision to stop intellectuals on their way to Nandigram at Bagnan in Howrah yesterday.Wearing black badges Mr Das Munshi along with other district congress leaders protested against the highhandedness of the CPI-M in Nandigram. He criticised the state election commission for issuing its second letter to intellectuals asking them to reconsider their decision to go to Nandigram after giving permission to the civil rights group earlier.The union minister pointed out the situation of Nandigram prior to the rural polls and criticised the CPI-M for snatching electoral photo identity card (epic) from family members of farmers in Nandigram, who are in support of the Opposition.He also predicted that driving out Congress and other political party supporters from a particular area the CPI -M’s cadres would rig and cast vote for a few Opposition party candidates there to “establish democracy” after securing 80 per cent seats in their favour. Since yesterday Mr Das Munshi has been campaigning in Malda for upcoming rural polls and urged the people to cast votes even in favour of the BJP at gram Sansad level where there is no Congress or other candidates who are anti-CPI-M or Left Front. n sns