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Journalism of Courage
CALCUTTA, AUG 17: West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu has ruled out the possibility of immediately holding an all-party meeting on the issue of political violence in Midnapore and other parts of rural Bengal, maintaining that it would be held at the local level first.
The issue of holding an all-party meeting on violence in the state first came up amid a controversy after Governor Viren Shah, in a statement, condemned the killings of 11 agricultural labourers in Nannur in Birbhum district last month.
Panicky state CPI(M) leaders, who read a different message in the Governor’s reaction, hastened to state that the Governor had no authority to call an all-party meeting on any issue. “Only the state government has the authority to call such a meeting,” CPI(M) state secretary Anil Biswas had said.
Basu, who was not in the town when the controversy snowballed, intervened on his arrival and said his government might call an all-party meeting on the issue of political violence spreading in Midnapore, Birbhum, Bankura and Hooghly.
But by ruling out an all-party meeting today, Basu has surprised political circles and the move is being seen as a turnaround. Coming close on the heels of a visit by an NDA team in Midnapore, Basu’s insistence that talks should be held at the local level is also being interpreted as a snub to the Trinamool Congress and the NDA team which has expressed serious doubts about the law and order situation in the district.
