Calcutta, Dec. 23: State Congress chief Manas Bhuniya and party leader Adhir Chowdhury today accused the CPM of misusing the joint forces in Jungle Mahal, echoing Mamata Banerjee.

The comments by the duo, who have been openly critical of Mamata, is being seen as a Congress move to placate the Trinamul Congress chief. Yesterday, Mamata had said she would quit the Union ministry if her charge that the central forces were being misused was proved wrong.

However, the two Congress leaders made it clear they did not want the joint forces withdrawn. While Bhuniya said he only wanted to know “from the chief minister how long the forces would remain in Bengal”, Chowdhury said it was “for the state and the Centre to decide whether the forces would stay”.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, however, told the Assembly the central forces would remain in Jungle Mahal until the Maoists had been “defeated decisively”.

Earlier, Bhuniya had told the Assembly: “The people of Lalgarh and other places in Jungle Mahal have complained to me that the central forces are being denied a free hand. The CPM is reclaiming areas with the help of the forces and is setting up camps there.”

“I agree 100 per cent with Mamata that the central forces are being misused by the CPM,” Chowdhury said over the phone from Murshidabad.

Bhattacharjee said: “The Centre and the state do not consider the Maoist menace a Bengal-specific problem. The central forces have been deployed in the state considering the extent of the rebel sway in Bengal.

“The central forces will be here as long as the Maoists are not defeated decisively and absolutely. Both the Centre and the state have agreed on it.”

He said the misuse charge was “baseless” and that the Centre “knows the ground reality and does not give importance to such charges, which are being made to suit one’s political agenda’’.