Charging Trinamool Congress with patronising and protecting Maoists, the CPI(M) on Thursday demanded a thorough probe into the holding up of the Rajdhani Express in West Bengal and asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to explain the role of central ministers in this regard. Alleging that Trinamool leader and Union Minister of State Sisir Adhikari had "boasted to the media that he had prior knowledge that such an attack would take place," the party demanded that the Prime Minister "needs to probe the source of such 'knowledge' by his ministerial colleague and inform the nation."

Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury said Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's first reaction to the incident was that CPI(M) cadres had blocked the train "to malign her", a statement "typical of the usual hyperbole and absurdity".

"However, when the graffiti exposed the perpetrators of this outrage as belonging to the Maoists, she expressed her desire for a dialogue and even conveyed to those holding the train hostage to suggest a venue," he said in an editorial in party organ 'People's Democracy'.

Observing that Trinamool has for long been seeking withdrawal of central forces carrying out anti-Maoist operations in Bengal, he said "it is precisely due to this political collaboration between the two that the Trinamool, till we go to press, has not condemned this Maoist outrage of stopping and damaging the train."