|
Chinsurah, Feb. 17: The Left Front could not hold a pre-approved rally in Hooghly that was to be addressed by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee after the administration pasted a notice at the venue this morning that microphones and amplifiers could not be used because of exams.
The move prompted the CPM to allege a “nexus” between the administration and Trinamul.
The high madarsa, fazil and alim examinations are scheduled to begin on Tuesday. The administration had granted permission on February 4 but took the decision to ban microphones and amplifiers this morning, citing pollution-control board norms and Calcutta High Court orders.
District magistrate Manmeet Nanda said: “Actually, it was a case of oversight…. We regret the inconvenience caused.”
The CPM said it was surprised by the sudden change of decision. Hooghly CPM secretary Sudarsan Roy Chowdhury said: “The district administration gave us permission to hold today’s meeting in Chinsurah. Then, it did not tell us about the examinations, such was their callousness. They woke up this morning to cancel our programme.”
Much before the meeting was to begin, it was learnt from CPM sources in Calcutta that former chief minister Bhattacharjee would not be able to make it as he was down with “fever”.
The buzz in the CPM crowd was that the party didn’t want to “embarrass” Bhattacharjee by bringing him to the venue after hearing about the cancellation.
|
