Fresh bout of fighting between Basu, Mamata

CALCUTTA, AUG 13: West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and Trinamool leader and Union railways minister Mamata Banerjee have engaged in a...

CALCUTTA, AUG 13: West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu and Trinamool leader and Union railways minister Mamata Banerjee have engaged in a fresh war of words. In response to the Chief Minister’s allegation yesterday that Mamata was a traitor, the fiery Trinamool chief said at a rally here today that if she had to take lessons in patriotism from people like Basu, she would have no other option but to hang herself.

The Trinamool rally was called to protest against the violence, allegedly by the CPI(M), in the state’s villages. Last week, at Suchpur village in Nanoor, 11 Trinamool supporters were killed, allegedly by CPI(M) activists.

Thousands of people joined today’s rally addressed by several Trinamool MPs besides Mamata.

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Basu triggered the fresh duel yesterday at a rally of the women wing of the CPI(M) at Burdwan. Criticising Mamata, he said her act of supporting the visit of two US consulate officials to Nanoor at Birbhum district last week amounted to treachery.

“It was the Marxists who said Yeh azadi jhuta hai, they justified China’s attack on India in 1962, they called Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Tojo’s dog, and they are now calling themselves patriots,” Mamata thundered. “I do not want certificate in patriotism from such people,” she added.

The Trinamool leader also deplored the way she was being attacked at the personal level by the Marxists. “They are personally attacking me, transgressing all limits of decency. The people of Bengal will not tolerate this,” she said.

She also declared that there would be a `Maha maha michhil’ (very grand procession) of the party in Calcutta on August 31.

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