Calcutta, Nov. 20 :    Calcutta, Nov. 20:  A week after drawing a collective gasp of adulation from 130,000 fans in the city, Hrithik Roshan has set adrenaline pumping in the corridors of Writers' Buildings. Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and his colleague Subhas Chakraborty today clashed over the cultural and moral dimensions of the pin-up's stage show, mounted with assistance from the transport and sports minister's department, at Salt Lake on November 11. Bhattacharjee, whose distaste for pelvic-thrusting and bosom-heaving Hindi films is well known, chided Chakraborty for his department's involvement in organising Hrithik's show. 'There is no criterion for decadent culture, but it (part-sponsoring the event) is certainly not healthy. Why should a government department get involved in it? There are sponsors like Coca-Cola or Pepsi for such events,' the chief minister said in Writers'. On the floor above, Chakraborty exploded. 'I know my culture,' snapped the minister, who has perfected the art of showcasing popular entertainers in support of various causes. 'One may not like Hrithik, but that does not mean one has the right to malign a talented artiste like him. I watched Hrithik perform till the end. I immensely liked his song-and-dance numbers. There was nothing indecent about them,' he added. 'Does culture mean only Bengali songs sung by Bengali artistes? Do Hindi songs sung by non-Bengali singers indicate decadent culture?' the minister asked. In Chakraborty's view, an event which draws 130,000 people conforms to the basic tenets of healthy, popular culture and cannot be described as 'decadent'. Moreover, the proceeds from the sale of tickets to the show were meant for the chief minister's relief fund. In a display of defiance, Chakraborty said he was willing to go into a debate and vowed to organise similar events in the future, if the need arose. 'I know I am right because my view represents the people's opinion,' he added. The 'people's opinion' was echoed by Jyoti Basu, too. Basu tonight came out in defence of Chakraborty, saying he personally did not see any wrong in such events as they represented mass sentiments. Chakraborty said he had taken the permission of 'leader of leaders Jyoti Basu'. 'I believe in one-man leadership and not collective leadership,' he said. History repeated itself in today's tussle. Fifteen years ago, Bhattacharjee and Chakraborty were locked in a public quarrel over Hope '86, a musical event based on Hindi films. Bhattacharjee had then stayed away from the event after dubbing it 'decadent'. Then, too, Basu had stood by Chakraborty. 'Strictly speaking, the government was not associated with the events either in 1986 or 2000. As I see it, he (Chakraborty) was involved in the organisation of the events in his personal capacity. The presence of his department on both occasions was negligible. I don't see any wrong,' Basu said tonight. Anil Biswas, CPM state secretary, avoided a direct comment, saying since the matter involved a minister, the government was best placed to handle it. But the CPM's cultural sub-committee supported Bhattacharjee, saying the Hrithik show was not compatible with Bengal's cultural heritage. The 'culture clash' is expected to add fuel to speculation on a perceived political race between Bhattacharjee and Chakraborty. It also represents the two conflicting positions on culture in the CPM. The orthodox school was once led by the late Pramode Dasgupta, while the progressives rallied around Basu. The row over Hope '86 and the Usha Uthup controversy - the late Jatin Chakraborty and the orthodox camp had objected to her performance - symbolised the CPM's penchant for culture policing. However, following Basu's non-doctrinaire approach, Bollywood stars and Uthup could perform in the city.