A possible face-off between the Trinamool Congress and the CPM was averted in Burdwan on Tuesday following an intervention by Union Finance Minister and WBPCC president Pranab Mukherjee.

Situation became tense in Mangalkote after Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Partha Chatterjee refused to budge from a spot, where, he claimed, he was stopped by CPM cadres from meeting villagers.

Tension defused after Mukherjee called him up and urged him to return to Kolkata.

“I called Chatterjee and requested him to return when I heard that he was not being allowed to enter villages in Mangalkote,” Mukherjee told The Indian Express.

Mangalkote has been on the boil since June 15, when local CPM leader Falguni Mukherjee was killed.

The Opposition is claiming that in retaliation the CPM has unleashed violence on villagers. Chatterjee claimed he was stopped near Sanri village by armed CPM cadres who prevented him from entering Dhanyarukhi, Shyambazar, Pindira, Lakshmipur and Kherua villages.

Refusing to leave the area, Chatterjee said: “The Trinamool would lay siege to Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s residence, if he was forced to retreat by the CPM cadres.”

“The situation here is worse than the atrocities committed by CPM cadres on tribals in Lalgarh. The police also feel unsafe,” he added. The standoff continued till he accepted the WBPCC chief’s request.

Meanwhile, in Kolkata, a 15-member delegation of the state Congress led by CLP leader Manas Bhuniya called on Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi on Tuesday to draw his attention to alleged atrocities committed by CPM cadres in Mangalkote.

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