KOLKATA: In a reply to Defence Minister Manohar Parikkar’s letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the deployment of Army personnel near state secretariat Nabanna on November 30, the Trinamool supremo said that she was not against the Army but against the use of Army for political motives.
In a letter shot in reply to Parikkar’s letter, the West Bengal Chief Minister said that the use of Army for political gains by the Centre was unprecedented.
“I am not against the Army but against the Centre’s policies of using Army against opposition forces. This has never been seen in the political history of the country,” she wrote.
The Defence Minister had earlier written to the Chief Minister explaining why the exercise of the Armed forces was done and said that Mamata Banerjee’s allegations could impact the morale of the Armed forces.
He said the Chief Minister should have spoken to the central agencies instead of alleging in front of the media.
“You would have come to know the extensive correspondence between army and state agencies, including the joint inspection of sites carried out by them,” he said.
The West Bengal Chief Minister had on December 1 alleged of Army coup by the Centre and told that she was not informed about the deployment of the military at the toll plazas near the state secretariat.
She spent the whole night at the state secretariat till the Army was removed.