Ananda Margis observe 29th anniversary of massacre; slam Left Front govt

Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha today took out a silent procession in Kolkata to mark the 29th anniversary of the massacre of 17 monks at Bijen Setu.

The monks were burnt alive in 1982.

More than thousand members of this religious-spiritual sect took part in the procession which also saw the presence of some members of the civil society. In the last few days, the Anandamarg has been drawn into a fresh controversy regarding the Purulia Arms dropping case. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and senior CPM leader Biman Bose have already demanded a new 'judicial inquiry ' into the matter and strongly admonished the Anandamarg for creating alleged political turbulence in the state.

Amid all this, today's procession was significant as the central leadership of the Samgha participated in it and they strongly criticised the role of the Communist government in Bengal. General secretary Acharya Mantreshvarananda Avadhuta and central committee member Tryambakeshvarananda Avadhuta slammed the Communists terming them as 'butchers' who have allegedly killed nearly 30 Ananda Margis in their tenure.

They also refuted Kim Davy's claim of being involved with the organisation. The Margis pointed out that in 1998, even Indrajit Gupta, the then home minister, who belonged to the CPI, and Jyoti Basu , the erstwhile Chief Minister, could not frame them in the case, which proves that the CPM is now defaming them for political benefits.

The central leadership of the Ananda Marg also indirectly granted their support to the Trinamool Congress and all anti-Left forces in the ongoing Assembly elections. "This CPM government and their cadres were responsible for the brutal massacre at Bijen Setu. We have been awaiting justice. The time has come when the Communists get buried in their own grave," said Mantreshvarananda Avadhuta.

"We hope that Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee would listen to our demands after she becomes the new Chief Minister and order a judicial probe into the massacre. We appeal to everyone to vote against the ruling Left front to restore peace and justice in the state," said another central committee representative.

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