The Trinamool Congress and CPM have a new subject to spar on former chief minister Jyoti Basus birth anniversary celebration. The Trinamool has chosen to celebrate the birthday of the Marxist leader at the lobby of the Assembly on July 6 ahead of the actual birth anniversary which is on July 8. The CPM,however,has chosen to boycott the event. The Left Front has decided to celebrate the event at the same venue on July 8. Asked about the celebrations,leader of Opposition Surya Kanta Mishra said,Our skipping the programme will not look awkward. What will look awkward is the government celebrating the birthday in advance. The government has done this before. It has celebrated the birthdays of other great men and women ahead of their actual birthdays. Its a shame,a dishonour to the person. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had earlier announced that the government would celebrate the birth anniversary of Basu as part of its plan to pay tribute to all former chief ministers. However,after Basus death,the Trinamool Congress has never attended any birthday celebration of the former chief minister. Mishra has also turned down the chief ministers request in the Assembly to take part in an all-party delegation to the Centre to demand a moratorium on the payment of interest and repayment of the principal amount of loans. We are ready to side with the government on all legitimate demands but we cannot ask for a moratorium because there is no constitutional sanction for it. Unless Article 355 (financial emergency) or Article 356 (presidents rule) is in place in a state,such moratorium cannot be asked for, Mishra said.
