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In an embarrassment to party leadership, CPM leader Lakshman Seth Wednesday praised Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s achievement in restoring peace in Darjeeling and Junglemahal.
“She is doing a great job. She has restored peace in Darjeeling and Junglemahal. She has the guts to stand in Darjeeling and say that division of Bengal will not be allowed. We didn’t have this guts and boldness to deal with such situations during our tenure,” said Seth.
The leader, CPM’s face during the Nandigram movement in 2007, which catapulted Mamata Banerjee to the helm of affairs in the state, has been at loggerheads with the party’s state leadership after an inquiry commission was initiated to look into allegations of corruption and misuse of party post. Seth had last month sent a letter to the party leadership expressing his desire to quit from all posts and the party itself.
Earlier this month, without naming former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as well as the party’s leadership in Bengal, Seth had lashed out and termed them as “authoritarian” and called for reforms.
He had also compared Bhattacharjee, without taking his name, to King Lear and observed that the party too would face its Waterloo like the Communist rule in Russia did in 1991.
Meanwhile, the CPM leadership hit back at Seth saying he was suffering from loss of memory and has forgotten the steps taken by the Left to maintain peace in the Hills and Junglemahal.
“I think Seth is suffering from loss of memory. He has forgotten the steps and sacrifices that our party leaders have made in order to protect peace and harmony in the Hills and Junglemahal. The situation in the Hills have become restive due to the wrong policies of Mamata Banerjee and the Centre by putting the Gorkhaland aspect in the GTA. So, where from is he (Seth) seeing the guts? I don’t know why he is saying all these,” CPM central committee member Shyamal Chakraborty said. Meanwhile, expelled CPM leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah termed Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee an “impure” Communist.
“The future of Communism is bright. But first these impure Communists like Buddhadeb and Nirupam Sen should be chucked out. Then the health of CPM will improve,” said Mollah.
He was reacting to Bhattacharjee’s claim earlier in the day that expulsion of Mollah from the party would improve the health of CPM.
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