The Bharatiya Janata Party on Saturday moved a motion in the Rajya Sabha for a debate on Nandigram on Monday, alleging that the violence-hit area of West Bengal had been converted into a war zone by state agencies and Communist Party of India-Marxist cadre".

The notice for the adjournment motion was sent by BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi to the Rajya Sabha secretary general.

The motion seeks suspension of Question Hour on Monday to allow discussion on Nandigram issue.

Giving the notice, Joshi said "serious situation" had arisen in Nandigram due to "barbaric atrocities perpetrated on women farmers and other weaker sections of the society".

He alleged that Nandigram had been converted into a "war zone by state agencies, including the CPI-M cadres of West Bengal".

The saffron party is keen for a debate on Nandigram to corner CPI-M and the UPA government.

Refusing to agree that the matter was a state subject, the party argues that it can be debated upon in Parliament like 2002 Gujarat riots.

The BJP says Nandigram was not a state issue exclusively as it pertains to acquisition of land for Special Economic Zone, which is a central subject.

"Why can't Nandigram be discussed when Gujarat has been discussed several times," BJP leader V K Malhotra said.