Bhattacharjee: In the dock?

Calcutta, May 14: The RSP and the Forward Bloc held chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his party responsible for the violence in South 24-Parganas as a defensive CPM appealed for unity.

Although fuming, the allies refused to leave the CPM-led government or the Left Front as urged by the SUCI and the Congress.

RSP state secretary Deb-abrata Banerjee said Basanti was an addition to the “front’s list of shame, starting with Nandigram”. “It was a eunuch administration, a crippled one that only played according to the CPM’s rules.”

He accused Bhattacharjee and front chairman Biman Bose of turning their backs to the intimidation of RSP candidates and supporters in Basanti by CPM cadres.

“PWD minister Kshiti Goswami and irrigation minister Subhas Naskar had informed the chief minister about the violent incidents in Basanti in the run-up to the polls and sought his intervention to activate the administration. We had also briefed Bose. But they did nothing,” Banerjee said.

Goswami said: “The police and the administration have acted like Shikhandi (the eunuch Arjun had used as a shield in the fight against Bhishma in the Mahabharat).

“Democracy is in peril. The CPM must have worked out some customised definition of democracy to suit their purpose. Even Hitler and Stalin liked to call themselves democratic.”

Forward Bloc veteran Ashok Ghosh, too, rapped the chief minister and his party. “It is a shame for us that clashes among the allies have claimed four lives. Buddha, his administration and his party can’t escape responsibility. This could have been avoided had the administration been impartial.”

Apprehending a rerun of the violence in the third phase of polling in seven districts on Sunday, he urged the chief minister to ensure free and fair polls.

Bloc stronghold Cooch Behar, where five of its supporters were killed in police firing in February, will vote in phase III.

Front chief Bose, also the CPM state secretary, said the violence was “unfortunate”.

“It should not have happened. The front partners should restrain themselves irrespective of failure or success in seat-sharing. All sides should take the initiative to bring back normality,” he said.

Bose was confident, though, that the front would survive the period of turmoil. “Panchayat polls are not the end of our politics. The front will be intact,” he said.

SUCI leader Pravas Ghosh renewed his call to the RSP and the Bloc to leave the front. “The CPM’s intention to evict its allies from their strongholds has been exposed. It is time they leave the front,” he said.