Trinamool guilty of murders:Suman

KOLKATA: In the 10 months that he has been an MP, Trinamool Congress' enfant terrible Kabir Suman has more often been in the news for his outbursts against his party and the Union government. On Sunday, Suman fired a fresh salvo at his partymen the most shocking yet. He accused them of murder.
In an interview to a private channel, Suman bracketed Trinamool with arch rival CPM for practising the same brand of politics corruption and killings.
Four months back, Suman's first public outburst had been a major cause of embarrassment for the party. It took the intervention of Mahasweta Devi to sort out matters between him and party chief Mamata Banerjee. This time, however, things are different. Even Mahasweta Devi had criticised the Trinamool Congress leadership at a public meeting on Saturday.
On Sunday, it was Suman's turn. "CPM has killed people for so long. Now, Trinamool is doing the same. In the panchayats controlled by Trinamool, nothing moves without bribery. I receive complaints every day," the singer-turned-MP said. "If this goes on, we will lose people's faith."
On November 17, Suman had accused a section of the Trinamool leadership in South 24-Parganas of corruption and trying to manipulate MPLAD funds. Mamata had then dubbed him an "outsider", angering Suman even more. The truce, brokered by Mahasweta Devi, didn't last long. In January, Suman released a CD of his songs demanding the release of arrested PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato, putting Mamata in an embarrassing position.
Kabir Suman's diatribe against Trinamool Congress comes two months after he released an album with songs demanding release of arrested PCPA leader Chhatradhar Mahato. Though Mamata Banerjee quickly distanced herself and her party from the affair, the damage had already been done. The singer then threatened to sit on a dharna outside Parliament in protest against Operation Green Hunt and repeatedly offered himself as mediator for talks between Maoists and the government.
Suman has also claimed that a section of intelligentsia that had sided with Mamata during the Nandigram and Singur agitations were having second thoughts.
The rift in the Left intelligentsia after the Nandigram killings, which swelled the Trinamool ranks, has always been a cherished moment for Mamata. But the outbursts by Mahasweta Devi and Suman show that there are fissures, and they are widening. The likes of Aparna Sen and Kaushik Sen have already distanced themselves from Trinamool.
In Sunday's interview, Suman said that the paribartankami' intellectuals were doing a rethink. "The intelligentsia doesn't support killings. They have started thinking anew," Suman said.