Nandigram genocide must be on agenda: Mamata

The "genocide" in Nandigram must be on the agenda of any future all-party meeting to be attended by her, Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee said on Friday, a day after one such effort to restore peace in troubled area came to an abrupt end over her demand.

"I will join any future all-party peace meeting for Nandigram provided the March 14 genocide is on the agenda," Banerjee told a public meeting in Panskura during a municipality election campaign.

Banerjee walked out of Thursday's all-party peace meeting in Kolkata protesting against the word "genocide" not being mentioned in the draft resolution and alleging that the Communist Party of India-Marxist was justifying the police firing.

Demanding resignation of West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, whom she described as 'the head of state-sponsored terrorism', the Trinamool chief said, "The chief minister should be arrested and punished for his role in the Nandigram genocide."

Alleging that the CPI-M had been 'browbeating and intimidating opposition parties', Banerjee said, "This has to be immediately stopped as a step towards normalising the situation in Nandigram."