Crude bomb explodes on school roof in West Bengal; students panic
Kolkata, Sep 17: A crude bomb exploded on the roof of a school building in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district on Saturday when classes were in progress, a senior police official said.
There was no casualty in the incident as students and teachers were in rooms located on the first two floors of the three-storied building, he said.
The students got panicked hearing the sound of the explosion and left the premises helter-skelter, while teachers went upstairs to find bomb splinters close to the roof, according to a managing committee member of the state-aided institute at Titagarh in the industrial belt of the district.
A top official of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate told reporters after visiting the spot that the blast was caused by a single crude bomb.
He said that it would be investigated whether the bomb was hurled from a nearby building or it had been kept there and suddenly went off.
Barrackpore MP Arjun Singh told reporters at the spot that whoever was responsible for the blast would have to be arrested and punished.
"Had any child been around the spot, I shudder to think what could have happened. I have urged the commissioner of police and other top officials of Barrackpore Police Commissionerate to find out the culprits," said Singh who returned to the TMC from the BJP last May.
BJP's Hooghly MP Locket Chatterjee demanded a CBI probe into the incident.
"Even school children are not safe in the rule of Mamata Banerjee. Bombs are discovered in houses and party offices across West Bengal. Today's incident is a pointer to the grim law and order situation. We don't have faith in the state police or CID. We want CBI probe to unravel the truth," she said.
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Marxism will remain relevant despite Left electoral's losses, says general secretary M A Baby
New Delhi (PTI): CPI(M) General Secretary M A Baby on Thursday asserted that the Left movement would remain relevant despite not being in power in any state, saying the ideology would continue to endure as long as social and economic inequalities persist.
Hitting back at BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar over his reported remarks that Marxism had become irrelevant, Baby, in an interview with PTI Videos, said, "So long as there is division in society, so long as there is exploitation of the majority of workers, peasants and ordinary masses by a handful of billionaires, Marxism will remain relevant."
"That perhaps Mr Rajeev Chandrasekhar may not be able to understand, but this is the fact of the matter," he said.
Baby acknowledged that the CPI(M)-led Left was currently without an elected government in any state, but maintained that electoral setbacks would not diminish the movement's role.
"We may not have an elected government in any state. There were occasions when we didn't have a government. But the red flag and the commitment to organise and struggle for the rights of the dispossessed, marginalised and exploited will always be upheld by CPI(M) and the Left movement," he said.
He said the Left continued to enjoy support among workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, students and women, and argued that the movement remained necessary because "oppression and assault" continued in society.
"So long as such problems exist in society, the red flag and the working class movement will continue to work among the masses," the Left leader said.
Exuding confidence on the Left's revival, Baby said the party would reflect on the reasons behind its electoral loss.
"We may be rejected in one election, but we will stage our comeback by understanding what went wrong with us," he said, adding, "We will listen to people and we will come back with higher strength."
Baby also criticised the Congress over reported factional tensions in Kerala after the Congress-led United Democratic Front's victory in the state.
"The way they are behaving is being watched by the people of Kerala," he said, referring to infighting within the Congress.
"Those who have given a massive majority to Congress and UDF would be watching all this," he added, while urging party leaders to "settle the problem in an amicable, democratic manner".
Referring to West Bengal, Baby alleged that violence had escalated following the BJP's victory in the state assembly polls.
"It is quite unfortunate that the moment BJP snatched a massive victory in West Bengal, violence has also started on a big scale," he said.
He also accused the Trinamool Congress of being "notorious for violent activities" and alleged that the "RSS-controlled BJP" had "unleashed violence in many places" after the election results.
"This is not good for Bengal, not good for the country. We wish and hope that normalcy would be restored as soon as possible," he said.
Baby said the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal would continue efforts to "pacify people" and avoid violence and confrontation.
Asked about former Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan not reacting publicly to the election results, Baby said Vijayan would respond "at an appropriate time".
