Forward Bloc disrupts Pranab meeting

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who yesterday faced a demonstration at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) at Baranagar by employees...

Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who yesterday faced a demonstration at the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) at Baranagar by employees, today faced another demonstration, this time by Forward Bloc members, at the gates of a five star hotel of Kolkata. Mukherjee had gone to attend the 105th AGM of the Merchants Chamber of Commerce.

Yesterday the minister, who heads the ISI governing council, was to attend an official function. As he was entering the institute, the employees held a demonstration, shouting slogans in favour of their demands regarding jobs. Mukherjee was escorted out of the building by his guards.

Today, the Forward Bloc, a partner of the ruling Left Front, demanded that the report of the Justice Manoj Mukherjee Commission on the death of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose be discussed in Parliament.

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They also demanded that the Central government take over the ancestral house of Netaji at Elgin Road.

A visibly angry Mukherjee, when asked about the incident after the function, said the report was there for discussion in Parliament, but it was disrupted. ‘‘What do we do? The discussion was disrupted by BJP. I did not know that they belonged to the Forward Bloc. It is sheer stupidity,’’ Mukherjee said.

The Bloc, which called a press conference in the afternoon, supported the demonstration. ‘‘We support the demonstrators. We want the report to be discussed in Parliament. We also want the Central government to take over Netajis’ ancestral house and convert it into a national memorial,’’ said Ashok Ghosh, senior leader of the Bloc.

Ghosh also said the party would call a convention on July 12 to discuss the issue. The party, he added, would submit a memorandum to the governor on this issue.

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