The Congress put the Left Front government of West Bengal on the mat while describing the Nandigram killings as "very unfortunate" and dubbing the possession of sophisticated weapons allegedly by CPM cadres, who had clashed with the local farmers on the SEZ issue, as "disturbing".
"Weapons like AK-47 that were with the CPM cadres obviously cannot be licensed. The whole thing is disturbing," said Digvijay Singh, AICC general secretary. Refusing to specify whether the violent incident could destabilise the state government, Singh, however, said that what had happened was a "very serious matter."
The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister sought a change in the "archaic" land acquisition act in order to balance the interests of farmers, developers and industrialists.
On his part, AICC spokesman Satyavrat Chaturvedi described the Nandigram incident as "very unfortunate." He said the party condemns "violence, anywhere and everywhere."
He reacted cautiously to the question whether the Congress would take up the matter with the Left parties that support the UPA from outside. "We will discuss the issue within the party," he said.