Cong MLA’s visit to Writers’ fuels tie-up talk

The Congress and the Left had won 44 seats and the Trinamool Congress six in the recently concluded panchayat samiti elections,

Sources said that Sujapur MLA Abu Naser Khan Choudhury who is also brother of late ABA Ghani Khan Choudhury,had sought an appointment with Banerjee. However,contacted,Naser Khan said his visit to the Writers was for a different reason. “I went to discuss the issue of drinking water and nothing else,” he said.

To a query on the district president’s comments,Naser Khan,in a veiled attack on Tourism Minister Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury,said,“If we have to discuss terms and conditions with the TMC,we will do it with the party leadership in Kolkata and not those in Malda who had just six months ago quit the Congress to join the ruling party.”

He said that the decision will be taken keeping development of Malda as a priority. “If we remain stuck to

our egos,development work will come to a halt in the district,” he said.

With August 22 as deadline to form the board,some Congress leaders have expressed reservation over the party move. “Both the TMC and the CPM have remained our (political) enemies and our workers were attacked by members of both the parties. If we now join hands with either,we will have to face questions from our voters,” said Congress MLA from Baishnabnagar,Isha Khan Choudhury.

Isha Khan,who is also the district Congress president’s son,his father will take call after a discussion with state party chief Pradeep

Bhattacharya. Contacted,Bhattacharya said that his party was yet to reach a decision. “I have asked them (district unit) to decide and let me know about their stand on Monday. We will take a decision then,” he said.

Meanwhile,district CPM secretary Ambar Mitra said they have no plans to join hands with the Congress. “We have decided that we will sit on the Opposition bench. Our leader Shyamal Chakraborty has already said that there will be no Congress-CPM alliance in Malda,” he said.

However,Tourism Minister Krishnendu Narayan Choudhury said the TMC will take a call depending on “what the Chief Minister

decided.”