In the backdrop of growing tension between the Trinamool Congress and Congress in West Bengal, the Centre on Monday played ball with the Left and agreed to extend its government in the state full support in tackling the Maoist menace. The assurance came after Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

After the meeting, Bhattacharjee said the Centre had accepted his demand to continue 17 companies of central forces stationed in West Bengal to carry out a joint operation with the state police against the Maoists. Bhattacharjee in turn gave a thumbs-up to an all-out offensive by the Centre against the Maoists.

Interestingly, the Centre’s acceptance of the Left government’s demand came a day after Trinamool Congress chief and Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee sought the arrest of Bhattacharya and imposition of President’s rule in West Bengal following another clash between Trinamool and CPM cadres. Mamata, who is undecided over the stand to take vis-a-vis Maoists, had also said recently that sending paramilitary forces to Lalgarh was a mistake by the UPA government.

In this scenario, the Left has sensed an opportunity to drive a wedge between the Centre and its bete noire Mamata, particularly when ties between the two are already frayed over the ugly tussle for the mayor’s post in Siliguri. Seen in Delhi after a long time, Bhattacharjee played his meeting with Manmohan Singh to the hilt on Monday. “The Prime Minister is a knowledgeable person,” he remarked.

Questioning Mamata’s demand to withdraw Central forces from Lalgarh, the Chief Minister underlined that she was now part of the same Centre. “How can a Union minister make such a demand when the Prime Minister says that Naxalism is the biggest threat to internal security?” he wondered, dismissing Mamata’s call for his arrest as “juvenile disorder”.

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