Nilotpal Basu, Member of Parliament of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), has criticised the proposed visit of Bharatiya Janata Party leader L K Advani to Nandigram just before the beginning of the winter session of Parliament. Basu charged Advani with adopting double standards in such matters.
When asked for his party's response to M A Naqvi's allegation that CPM stands for "centrally-protected murderers", Basu said BJP had no moral right to do so particularly after committing massacre of 2,000 people during the Godhra riots in 2002.
"Where was Advani when over 5000 cadres were forced to leave their houses in Nandigram by the party headed by Mamata Benerjee?" he asked.
He said that Advani's trip could have been justified if he had made a similar trip then.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is touring Russia, is in touch with Union home minister Shivraj Patil and also spoke to West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee over the Nandigram issue.