Lakshman Seth was elected thrice to the Lok Sabha and West Bengal Assembly, when he was a member of the CPI(M). An influential leader in Bengal during the 1990s, Seth had drafted the Nandigram policy and it was under his stewardship that land acquisition notices were issued to farmers, culminating in bloodshed in 2007. He was arrested for the Nandigram violence when Mamata Banerjee came to power. He left the CPI(M) for the Congress in 2018. These days, Seth is a recluse with a soft corner for Mamata. Excerpts from an interview with Seth:
Q/ How do you view the contest in Nandigram?
A/ Nothing except a big fight between the chief minister and her former loyalist.
Q/ But you are the reason for what happened there.
A/ How can I be? I am simply watching an election battle. A betrayer, Suvendu [Adhikari], is fighting Mamata.
Q/ You call Suvendu a betrayer, but what about Mamata?
A/ She is not. Mamata is not solely responsible for what happened [in 2007]. Suvendu is the only one responsible for that movement. Mamata’s fault was that she listened to Suvendu, even after becoming chief minister. I thought she was intelligent, but ultimately, she is not.
Q/ Why do you blame Suvendu? Even you were guilty for the violence.
A/ These are false allegations. I was not at all responsible for what happened. I was framed by the Mamata government because she was misled by Suvendu. He put huge pressure on Mamata to arrest me.
Q/ So Mamata had only a small role in the violent movement?
A/ Yes. Mamata participated in it as part of a political movement. But it was the Adhikaris that took it to the level of extreme violence. It was Suvendu who brought Maoists into the movement. Mamata did not do all that. Because of her over-reliance on the Adhikari family, Mamata has to pay a heavy price today.
Q/ But were you not accused by the state government for ordering mass murders in Nandigram?
A/ These are bogus [claims] planted by Suvendu. Mamata knows I was innocent. All the police firing was ordered from Writers’Building and the chief minister at that time was responsible for it.
Q/ What was your purpose?
A/ I wanted to industrialise Bengal, and so, identified Nandigram for this grand project. My job was to implement the SEZ project, not to oversee law and order.
Q/ Who will win the Nandigram election?
A/ Mamata Banerjee. Suvendu will lose badly.
Q/ But Suvendu has considerable clout there.
A/ He is an anti-industrial character who drove big projects out of Nandigram. Many companies had to leave the Haldia dock because of him. The people of Nandigram have understood him.
Q/ You seem to be a Mamata supporter now. That is quite a turn.
A/ Not at all. But Mamata is a far better human being than Suvendu.
Q/ Will you join the TMC?
A/ I am a non-functioning leader of the Congress. I do not know whether I would join the TMC or not. In the past, Suvendu prevented my entry into the party. But I might advise the TMC on certain issues.