CPI(M) today said West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was "playing with fire" in the way she was tackling the Gorkhaland issue and claimed she was "incapable" of understanding ground realities in some troubled parts of the state.
"It seems she is incapable of understanding the ground realities and the difference between Jangalmahal and the hill areas (of North Bengal). An economic package and some infrastructure development can bring some visible changes in the former, but in Darjeeling, one has to take into account the ethnic factors entwined in the whole issue.
"It seems the Chief Minister is oblivious of it. She is playing with fire. We can only hope that it doesn't burn her and the rest of the state," CPI(M) Politburo member and Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Surjya Kanta Mishra told PTI.
He accused Banerjee of first "playing cosy" with Gorkha Janamukti Morcha (GJM) for "petty political gains", then going for a tri-partite accord in July 2011 and "now when GJM ups its demand after Telengana, she gets into a combative mode."
"This kind of flip-flop will never help. The Chief Minister should have never slammed the doors on dialogue. You can't abruptly stop talking," Mishra, who was here to attend CPI(M) Central Committee meeting, said.
He asserted that there was no other way for the state government than to hold a tripartite dialogue with the agitators, involving the Centre.
"Moreover, an all-party meeting on the issue, which we have been demanding for long, should be convened with all stakeholders urgently to discuss the prevailing situation," he said.
