The West Bengal government came in for severe criticism from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) chairperson Justice S Rajendra Babu, who said Nandigram and Godhra were the “worst scars” on the face of the nation.

Calling the situation in Bengal “grave”, Babu said, “Nandigram and Godhra are assaults on the face of democracy. They are the worst scars on the face of the nation. It is shameless to see that human rights were violated in such a way.” He said NHRC was committed to protect the rights of people who were victims of “opportunist” politics in Bengal and Gujarat.

“The State Human Rights Commission in West Bengal is actively involved in taking up these cases, as it had done at the time of Gujarat riots,” he said on the sidelines of Fourth Annual Meeting of the NHRC with State Human Rights Commissions in New Delhi on Monday.

“The Calcutta High Court has already condemned the attack on farmers and provided a tight slap on the face of the government,” he said, adding that he would talk to the W Bengal chief secretary to assess the situation in Nandigram.

Asked about the failure of the state government in handling the situation, he refused to comment, but said it was up to the government to decide what is best in the interest of the people.

“I can’t comment on the government action or inaction. What they have done or are going to do is not for me to comment. I would only say it is tragic to see such kind of things happen in our democratically governed country,” he said. “On NHRC’s part, we are equally sorry for the state of the affairs, as most other people in the country. We condemn such attacks.”

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