Buddha breaks tradition, meets PM, Advani

And nobody is complaining. In fact, to express their happiness, a group of leaders went in full force to the airport to receive him with garlands 8212; something unheard of in the Left tradition of things. 8220;Yes, we have never done anything like this. But then we have not had anybody like him who knows that we exist and wants to consult us before taking crucial decisions. Going to the airport with garlands was our way of welcoming him, of letting him know that we have accepted him with an open heart,8221; said a veteran Left Front MP at Banga Bhawan.

The MPs are excited and happy at being called for a meeting by 8220;Buddhada8221; 8212; as the new Chief Minister is lovingly called. However, they never dared to have a nickname for the dictatorial Jyoti Basu. 8220;I don8217;t remember Basu calling the MPs for a meeting. He took all the decisions himself. It is a pleasant change to be actually participating in the affairs of the state government,8221; said an MP.

During a press conference today, Bhattacharya tried explaining his concept of collective leadership. 8220;There is nobody who can replace Jyoti Basu and that8217;s why I think it8217;s better to project collective leadership. I would like to consult my colleagues over important issues and decisions,8221; he said.

There are other things too in which the new Chief Minister8217;s attitude has been found refreshingly different by the MPs. 8220;He seems open to change,8221; said a party colleague. And this was visible when Bhattacharya accepted the necessity for the Left Front to be 8220;more organised and responsive8221;. He also said that he was trying to change the philosophy and attitude of trade unions. 8220;The work culture has to improve. The government employees need to be more motivated,8221; he said.

And by calling on Advani this morning, Bhattacharya broke a tradition of sorts 8212; he became the first Chief Minister from the Left-ruled state to Have met a senior BJP leader on his turf. The meeting lasted 45-minute and the things discussed included law and order situation in the state, the situation on Indo-Bangladesh border, particularly the problem of illegal immigrations from the other side, and the ISI activites in the region.

8220;Basu used to meet only the Prime Minister. He considered himself to be too senior to meet anybody else in the government. But that kind of an attitude only alienated the state government from the Centre. We are not saying that Basu was wrong, but just that it was a different approach. Buddhada is just sending the signal across that he wants a more open and interactive relationship with the Centre,8221; said a CPIM MP.

Bhattacharya also discussed expediting the change in name of Calcutta to Kolkatta. 8220;I also asked for additional forces 8212; 10 battalions of Border Security Force for the nine districts bordering Bangladesh and five companies of the Central Reserve Police Force for north Bengal,8221; the Chief Minister said.

About his meeting with the Prime Minister 8212; his first after he took over as the Chief Minister 8212; Bhattacharya said he mainly discussed the grim flood situation in the state. 8220;I have requested the Prime Minister to give us money from the National Calamity Relief Fund. We need Rs 1,487 crore to tide over the losses and destruction caused by the floods in the nine districts.