Gandhi and Basu: Peace and patch-up bid

Calcutta, Nov. 12: The CPM today appeared anxious for a reconciliation with the governor and keen to use his office for a renewed peace drive, but the first move came from Gopalkrishna Gandhi himself.

He called on Jyoti Basu, and said after a 40-minute meeting: “I’m sure his (Basu’s) initiative will bring back peace in Nandigram.... I’ve come to pay my respects to Basu and I have full confidence in him.”

Like his party, the patriarch had criticised the governor for his Nandigram statement.

The CPM’s allies welcomed the move to involve Basu in the peace process.

Asked if he would also talk to Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the governor replied in the affirmative. “The chief minister has already spoken to me and will also do so in this regard.”

Left Front chairman and state CPM secretary Biman Bose also called on Basu.

On Gandhi’s suggestion that Basu resume the peace process, Bose said: “ We have to discuss it in the party…. We’ve to consider Jyotibabu’s health.’’

Bose insisted he not aware of what transpired between Basu and the governor and that he visited the elderly leader to “apprise him of the deliberations of the party politburo meeting” as well as to “enquire about his health”.

Other party leaders described Gandhi’s visit to Basu as an effort to “mend the bridges with the ruling party following the Centre’s advice”.

Far from showing any remorse over the party’s armed offensive to reclaim its turf, as alleged by the governor, Bose admitted there was “no doubt that CPM supporters, too, joined it (the violence)”.

Trinamul Congress MLA and leader of Opposition Partha Chatterjee said: “We’re opposed to any peace process at this juncture, whether convened by Basu or the governor.”

Mamata Banerjee had earlier said that she would participate in the peace drive if it was initiated by the governor.

The Congress appreciated the governor’s role. “Gandhi has done the right thing,” said PCC working president Pradip Bhattacharya.

CPI state secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar and his Forward Bloc counterpart Ashok Ghosh also gave their thumbs-up. The RSP refused comment.