The CM was replying to the debate in the state Assembly on the police budget that was passed subsequently.

“There is a trend among you to dwarf the issue of the Maoists. But I tell you this is a wrong attitude. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has said Maoists pose the greatest threat to the security of this country. There was a meeting in his residence recently that was attended by (representatives from) seven states affected by Maoists. In that meeting, the prime minister wanted to know from us what kind of problem we were facing. All of us should be united in fighting against them,” Bhattacharjee said.

Though the CM said 39 Maoists have been arrested this year so far, he did not elaborate on how many of them were slapped with the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act under which the outfit was banned by the Central government.

The decision of using the UAPA would be taken only by the Home Secretary, he said. “We cannot leave the decision to the thana level because the punishment under the Act is severe. We will have to weigh the pros and cons before deciding on the arrest of anyone under this law,” Bhattacharjee said.

The CM reiterated his allegation that the Trinamool Congress had links with the Maoists. “You used them for political purposes in Khejuri and Nandigram. You should not do this. The Maoists are terrorists. They do not abide by the Constitution or the law. You should keep away from them,” he told the Trinamool members amid loud protests from the Opposition benches.

Bhattacharjee said while in 2006, a total of 35 cases of police firing took place, in 2007, the number was 50 and in 2008 it was 42.