(Top) CRPF constable Dimple Sharma, who was allegedly assaulted by the Nandigram OC, Debashish Chakraborty (below)

Calcutta, May 12: Lakshman Seth claimed today that the party was behind him.

The Tamluk MP lodged a complaint with the CRPF director-general today, demanding “suitable action” against officer Alok Raj following a nod from the party leadership.

Seth said he had forwarded copies of his complaint to Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and the Union and state home secretaries.

“The party is definitely with me. It was Raj and not me who did the wrong things. He was acting with an ulterior motive and bias against us. He was vindictive to us as his men only beat up our supporters and spared the Trinamul people,’’ Seth said.

The MP said he had narrated his version of the spat to party state secretary Biman Bose, but the party brass tried to skirt the controversy.

CPM daily Ganashakti did not even mention the incident.

“When Shyamalda (Chakraborty, the party spokesperson) has supported me, how can the party’s stand be different?” said Seth.

Chakraborty, who had echoed Seth’s charges against Raj yesterday, declined comment today.

Seth said: “I’ve sought the DG’s intervention and action against the DIG. He had been discourteous to an MP. He refused to take my calls. When he took the call, he put the phone in speaker mode in front of the media to malign me.’’

The MP claimed that he had narrated several incidents in his complaint to underline “how Raj and his men roughed up our supporters since he landed in Nandigram and even didn’t spare women and state policemen”.

Seth said he decided to call Raj yesterday after being told that the DIG and his men had entered booth No. 176 in Sonachura without the police or a magistrate around 7am.

“Raj bodily searched our candidate, Naba Samanta, inside the booth. It was a gross violation of the state government’s orders.”

Naba, whose brother Shankar, had died in the land war last year, was earlier accused of committing atrocities against Opposition supporters.

“As the local MP, I was duty-bound to draw the DIG’s attention to any complaint that I received from the people. I could have called DG, but I did not to show respect to the post the DIG held,” Seth said.

The MP denied asking Raj to stay put in the CRPF camp. “I was telling him that the force should wait at the camp for villagers’ complaints. But he refused to listen.’’

He said Raj has to leave Nandigram. “He can’t stay on.’’

The CPM’s allies wanted an inquiry.

“I see nothing wrong in Lakshman Seth calling up Alok Raj. But whether it was within the powers of Seth to direct the CRPF officer to stay in a camp has to be probed. It should also be seen whether the officer was right in switching on the loudspeaker,” RSP leader Kshiti Goswami said.

CPI minister Nandagopal Bhattacharya did not support the MP’s “interference” in the CRPF’s work but added that the central force had committed “excesses yesterday”.