“I have talked to him. He has said the leader of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), Chhatradhar Mahato, is not a Maoist. But he would be booked whenever he is found,” the chief minister said. He was speaking during the debate on the Home (Personnel and Administrative Reforms) department budget proposal for fiscal year 2008-2009 in the state Assembly.

He added that Mahato has opened the door of Lalgarh to the Maoists who run training camps in the Jharkhand area and his committee was used as a front by the Maoists. The CM said a Congress leader had also reached the PCAPA-run relief camp with rice (as relief material) but he cannot be considered a Maoist.

Earlier, there was an uproar over Sen’s comments. The Congress slammed the government on the issue and demanded dismissal of the home secretary for making a statement which will put a question mark on the joint police operation in Lalgarh.

“How can the home secretary make such a statement. CPM state secretary is regularly saying that Chhatradhar Mahato is a Maoist, the Union government has sent central forces to combat Maoists, now your home secretary is insisting that Mahato has no link with the Maoists,” said Manas Bhuniya, leader of the Congress Legislative Party.

Bhattacharjee, meanwhile, reiterated that the Maoists and the Trinamool Congress are inter-linked but he would not consider the Trinamool leaders as Maoists. He said that both the Maoists and the Trinamool are using each other since Nandigram.

“The Trinamool and Maoists are inter-linked. Not only in Lalgarh, we have seen a close relation between the two parties in Nandigram and Khejuri also,” the CM said.

A senior official of CM secretariat, meanwhile, said: “The CM has asked the government that the UAPA should be imposed on those who are directly with the CPI (Maoist), which is a banned organisation. But the Act cannot be imposed in a doubtful case,” said.