Chatterjee: No bad blood

Calcutta, Oct. 14: The CPM today completed the formalities on the expulsion of Somnath Chatterjee with the central committee ratifying the politburo’s decision.

The politburo had axed Chatterjee after the Lok Sabha Speaker refused to listen to the party and step down before the trust vote in Parliament following the Left-UPA estrangement over the Indo-US nuclear deal.

“We did not discuss it in detail this time because the CC had looked into it threadbare earlier and authorised the politburo to take appropriate action,” a Bengal leader said.

Unlike in the case of other expelled members, the party brass had cautioned leaders against any rancour against Chatterjee as he held a constitutional post, but ruled out his return, “at least in the near future”. “Somnathda has not attacked the party. So, Prakash has told us to be civil,” a Bengal MP said.

However, it did not stop some from enquiring about what transpired between Chatterjee and Mamata Banerjee when both took the same flight to Delhi on Sunday. Politburo member Sitaram Yechury was on the plane, too.

Mamata, who had come to limelight by defeating Chatterjee in the Jadavpur Lok Sabha constituency in 1984, went to the veteran’s seat and offered Vijaya greetings. “I don’t know transpired between them since she did not come to talk to me,’’ Yechury said.

According to insiders, general secretary Prakash Karat defended the expulsion by accusing Chatterjee of “seriously compromising the party’s position”. However, he also dubbed the move “unfortunate” while recalling Chatterjee’s long association with the party and his role in Parliament as a CPM member.

Sources said the committee “endorsed” the politburo’s opposition to chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s anti-bandh comments after the last Left-sponsored general strike.