Uproar in LS over Mamata's rally in Lalgarh

There was an uproar in Lok Sabha today over Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's "apolitical" rally in West Bengal's Maoist stronghold of Lalgarh. Pro-Maoist tribal groups are expected to attend the rally.

There was an uproar in Lok Sabha on Monday over Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's "apolitical" rally in West Bengal's Maoist stronghold of Lalgarh. Pro-Maoist tribal groups are expected to attend the rally.

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Left party MPs tried to raise the issue at the beginning of question hour, but Trinamool Congress MPs protested vociferously.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal and his deputy V. Narayanasamy had a tough time pacifying the members from both sides.

With senior CPI-M MPs away to attend the extended central committee meeting, their colleagues Bansa Gopal Chowdhury and A. Sampath tried to raise the issue.

The Trinamool Congress protest was led by Sudip Bandyopadhyay.

Speaker Meira Kumar could bring the house to order only after the ministers reached out to the agitating members.

Banerjee had announced that Monday's rally in Lalgarh in West Midnapore district would be held under the banner of an apolitical forum - Santras Birodhi Mancha (Anti-Atrocities Platform) - and not the Trinamool Congress.

Strife torn Lalgarh, she said, would observe Democracy Day Monday. The pro-Maoist tribal group Peoples' Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA) has decided to participate in the rally.