Facing charges of having renewed violence through its cadres in Nandigram CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat on Monday lashed out at the Trinamool Congress and the Maoists, which he said are fighting alongside Trinamool cadres.
He also came down heavily on West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
An unusually combative Prakash Karat declared that the Marxists had won power through elections, at every level from gram panchayats to the state assembly.
He said that if those who had failed to dislodge the CPM in elections and thought they could throw them out by force, then they were mistaken.
He further said that the Trinamool Congress was trying to take power undemocratically and the only way for normalcy to return was with the return of the 1,500 CPM supporters to their homes in Nandigram.
Meanwhile, the CRPF entered Nandigram after more firing was reported there on Monday. Elsewhere in West Bengal, including Kolkata, life came to a grinding halt.
However, on Monday activists reportedly from the CPM attacked NDTV's Mohuya Chaudhari, her crew and smashed the camera as well. They were preventing the journalists from going into Nandigram.
Coming under attack from the CPM cadre are villages, which are strongholds of the opposition-backed Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), the group set up to fight land acquisition.
In particular, there are reports of fresh firing in Saraswati Bazaar, Chowranghee Bazaar and Amgachia villages where the BUPC leadership had been holed up after being driven out of Nandigram on Sunday.
Today's violence comes the morning after CPM cadre and supporter re-entered the troubled area of West Bengal.
Mamata has crticised the state government for the delay in Central Forces arriving at Nandigram.
Normal life hit
Life in the state has been badly hit with several Opposition parties in Bengal calling for bandhs to protest against the weeklong violence in Nandigram.
Attendance in offices is thin. The bandh has hit the IT sector with WIPRO announcing a holiday for its employees in Kolkata.
Long distance train services have been hit. Both incoming and outbound train services have been affected at the two main stations Sealdah and Howrah. Protesters have blocked railway tracks at several places.
Public transport in Kolkata is skeletal, with very few buses and taxis on the road.
Sporadic violence
There have been sporadic incidents of violence during today's West Bengal bandh. A state bus was also set on fire near Moulali in central Kolkata and in Durgapur.
The bandh has also affected industrial areas like Haldia, Durgapur, Kalyani and also the IT hub in Salt Lake as there has been a poor turnout of workers.
And even as the flight services remained normal, train services - both long distance and suburban are disrupted.
There's been fresh firing in three villages in Nandigram, including Sonachura but there have been no casualties.
Latest reports say people in Nandigram have been escaping to nearby relief camps to escape 'victory processions' by CPM cadre.
He also came down heavily on West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi.
An unusually combative Prakash Karat declared that the Marxists had won power through elections, at every level from gram panchayats to the state assembly.
He said that if those who had failed to dislodge the CPM in elections and thought they could throw them out by force, then they were mistaken.
He further said that the Trinamool Congress was trying to take power undemocratically and the only way for normalcy to return was with the return of the 1,500 CPM supporters to their homes in Nandigram.
Meanwhile, the CRPF entered Nandigram after more firing was reported there on Monday. Elsewhere in West Bengal, including Kolkata, life came to a grinding halt.
However, on Monday activists reportedly from the CPM attacked NDTV's Mohuya Chaudhari, her crew and smashed the camera as well. They were preventing the journalists from going into Nandigram.
Coming under attack from the CPM cadre are villages, which are strongholds of the opposition-backed Bhumi Uchched Pratirodh Committee (BUPC), the group set up to fight land acquisition.
In particular, there are reports of fresh firing in Saraswati Bazaar, Chowranghee Bazaar and Amgachia villages where the BUPC leadership had been holed up after being driven out of Nandigram on Sunday.
Today's violence comes the morning after CPM cadre and supporter re-entered the troubled area of West Bengal.
Mamata has crticised the state government for the delay in Central Forces arriving at Nandigram.
Normal life hit
Life in the state has been badly hit with several Opposition parties in Bengal calling for bandhs to protest against the weeklong violence in Nandigram.
Attendance in offices is thin. The bandh has hit the IT sector with WIPRO announcing a holiday for its employees in Kolkata.
Long distance train services have been hit. Both incoming and outbound train services have been affected at the two main stations Sealdah and Howrah. Protesters have blocked railway tracks at several places.
Public transport in Kolkata is skeletal, with very few buses and taxis on the road.
Sporadic violence
There have been sporadic incidents of violence during today's West Bengal bandh. A state bus was also set on fire near Moulali in central Kolkata and in Durgapur.
The bandh has also affected industrial areas like Haldia, Durgapur, Kalyani and also the IT hub in Salt Lake as there has been a poor turnout of workers.
And even as the flight services remained normal, train services - both long distance and suburban are disrupted.
There's been fresh firing in three villages in Nandigram, including Sonachura but there have been no casualties.
Latest reports say people in Nandigram have been escaping to nearby relief camps to escape 'victory processions' by CPM cadre.