Bhattacharjee

Aug. 23: The Hooghly administration has refused permission to the CPM to hold an indoor workers’ meeting to be addressed by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in former citadel Arambagh, prompting the party to dub the state government “dictatorial”.

The district administration has cited law-and-order issues for denying permission for the September 9 event at Rabindra Bhavan.

The CPM, however, has decided to go ahead with the meeting even if it doesn’t get the nod.

Hooghly CPM leaders, including district secretary and former higher education minister Sudarshan Roy Chowdhury, today met home secretary Basudeb Banerjee at Writers’ Buildings and requested him to ensure that the order is withdrawn. The CPM’s Arambagh MP, Shakti Mohan Malik, former MPs Rup Chand Pal and Santasri Chatterjee and former MLA Binoy Dutta were part of the delegation.

“We are firm on holding the meeting. The responsibility of maintaining law and order lies with the administration,” Roy Chowdhury said after the meeting.

According to the CPM, Arambagh sub-divisional officer (SDO) Arindam Niyogi had informed Roy Chowdhury in a letter on August 21 that permission for the meeting could not be granted “due to the law and order situation as per the report of the inspector-in-charge of Arambagh police station”.

When contacted by The Telegraph, Niyogi said: “I had asked the local police station to submit a report on the law-and-order situation in Arambagh before taking a decision. The report was not in favour of giving permission for the meeting.”

A senior district official, however, did not rule out a rethink. “The sub-divisional police officer has been asked by the SDO to review the situation and submit a report. There is still some time left for the meeting. If the situation improves, there can be a rethink,’’ the official said.

The district administration said there was tension in Arambagh because of “recent clashes between Trinamul and the CPM”. “A large CPM turnout could lead to fresh clashes,’’ an official said.

Police sources said there had been three political clashes in Arambagh sub-division this month. “CPM-Trinamul clashes have taken place in Dangal, Kalipur and Kable. There could be fresh violence if a big meeting is held in the area,” a senior police officer said.

The SDO’s letter, however, does not mention the nature of “the law and order situation”.

“It is surprising that permission has been denied for a meeting where the former chief minister will be present. We have already sent invites to party workers,” Roy Chowdhury said.

“Such objection to a meeting that will be held inside a hall is unprecedented. It has serious implications on the freedom of expression and the exercise of the fundamental right of citizens to hold meetings,” he added.

Leader of the Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra said: “During the Emergency, Jyoti Basu was denied permission to use a mike at a meeting. Two years later, he became chief minister. What’s the problem if the (September 9) meeting is held in a hall? This shows that the ruling party has lost the support of the people of Arambagh. It also indicates that the dictatorial government is afraid to allow Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee to address a meeting.”

Roy Chowdhury said the SDO took a month to reply to the party’s letter seeking permission for the meeting. “We had written to him on July 23. It took the administration nearly a month to decide that they will not let us hold the meeting,” he said.

The Arambagh sub-division has a history of political violence, mostly where the CPM ruled the roost from 1977 to 2011.

The then Opposition, particularly Trinamul, had failed to make any dent in the CPM’s support base. Seven-time MP Anil Basu’s writ ran large in the area till his expulsion earlier this year on disciplinary grounds. But in the Assembly elections last year, the CPM lost three of the four Assembly seats in Arambagh.