The Trinamool Congress has refused to participate in any peace meeting until the arms and explosives stockpiled in the villages are recovered by the police. It has also accused the police for being reluctant to conduct search operations.

East Midnapore Superintendent of Police S S Panda, however, admitted that currently, only a small quantity of firearms could be found in Nandigram and thus, a search would not yield any result. The peace process, on the other hand, will restore normalcy in the trouble-torn zone.

The peace initiative was launched on Friday. It was decided that the police and block-level officials would hold meetings in all the villages which would be attended by local party leaders.

Local Trinamool Congress leaders like Sheikh Suffian, however, felt that the peace process would yield positive results only if the firearms allegedly stockpiled by the CPM camp could be recovered from the villages. The CPM cadres had brought the arms before the panchayat elections, alleged Suffain.

The CPM cadres, on the other hand, alleged that Trinamool Congress is creating an obstacle in the peace process by not cooperating.

“It was the task of police to recover the firearms, if they were at all there,” said district committee member Ashok Guria.

East Midnapore District Magistrate Anup Agarwal has also laid stress on the recovery of firearms for the restoration of peace in Nandigram. Agarwal claimed that the election commission had asked the district administration to recover the firearms before the polls. Now, in light of the peace process, it was the task of police to recover the firearms from the villages.

“On Sunday the police and Nandigram BDO conducted peace meetings at two places. This will be followed by some more meetings in two or three villages on Tuesday” said Agarwal.

The block administration will also request political parties to provide the name of their respective representatives who would be part of the peace committee in the various gram panchayats.