Addressing a gathering of Trinamool Congress activists at Nandigram where one of her party activists and pradhan of Sonachura gram panchayat Nashikanta Mandal was killed a few weeks ago, Banerjee said, “The Marxists and the Maoists are the two sides of the same coin and Buddhadeb had given the Maoists a free passage to Nandigram in 2007 to kill our people.”

“It is the CPM which is killing our men in the name of Maoists. If the government can run joint operations against the Maoists, why no action can be initiated against the ruling CPM, which is also killing our men in different parts of West Bengal. Already, 100 of our party activists and sympathisers have lost their lives,” the railway minister said.

“We want the Centre to intervene in the lawless West Bengal. But we are not going to counter bullets being used by the CPM against our men with bullets, but with ballots. The CPM has lost its support base during the last Lok Sabha polls and it will be nowhere after the 2011 Assembly elections,” Banerjee thundered.

The Trinamool chief, who had earlier demanded withdrawal of security forces from Lalgarh, however, softened her stand on the issue. “Who said I don’t want joint operations? But in the name of joint operation against Maoists, the CPM is trying to gain control over the areas.”

Banerjee also read out a few names claiming they have been missing from Nandigram since March 14, 2007 when 14 persons were killed in the police firing. “These people from Nandigram are still missing and I have information the CPM had killed them and thrown their bodies into the river,” she said.

On the violence at Nanoor in Birbhum district during the day, she said, “When I asked the police to take action, they said they were unable to enter the area. If the police could enter Nandigram to kill people on March 14, 2007, why can’t they arrest CPM attackers?” “The chief minister has asked the police not to take action till the CPM operation is over,” she claimed.