Partners waiting, CPM ready with reply on Buddha bombshell

The CPI(M)’s politburo meeting will be held here on September 2 and the central committee meeting the next day. He said the Left coordination meeting was likely to be convened prior to that, most probably on September 1.

Left partners of the CPI(M) say they need some clarifications on Bhattacharya’s policies, some stemming from what he has said recently.

In an interview to Jakarta Post, the West Bengal CM said, ‘‘We can’t speak anymore about old dogmas… We have to reform our old policies. Otherwise, we will not be able to survive.’’

Abani Roy, RSP MP, said, ‘‘There is indeed a dissonance between what the CPI(M) says at the national level and what the West Bengal CM is doing. If the issues are discussed by the party, we would like to know what the party’s report is. If we are not satisfied, we will take up the matter at the Left coordination meeting.’’

Roy does not see any transfer of technology or job creation taking place from the kind of industries that will be set up if MoUs signed by Bhattacharya on his Singapore and Indonesia tour are honoured.

Referring to the proposed industrial economic by Indonesia’s Salim group on 5,100 acres of farmland in 24 Parganas, he said, that on the one hand the CPI(M) spoke of siding with the poor but on the other, people are being evicted. ‘‘Where are they going to find so many jobs for these people?’’ he asked.

Debabrata Biswas, general secretary of Forward Bloc, said his party had asked its Bengal state committee to give him a report on the recent developments. If needed, his party would raise the matter at the Left coordination meeting. His party has asked for a meeting of the Left Front in West Bengal to discuss the matter.

However, the CPI plans to restrict the Buddhadeb issue to Bengal. D Raja, CPI’s national secretary, said the party’s state committee would discuss the matter. If it was found that the decisions taken by the state were not in the interests of the state or on the parameters of the Left Front, the committee would take up the matter. He turned the PM’s statement on its head, saying, ‘‘What is good for the country, is good for Bengal.’’

PM to met Left on oil hike
NEW DELHI: PM Manmohan Singh will meet Left leaders soon on the issue of an oil price hike. This follows demands from oil companies to raise prices in the face of losses due to rising international rates. The government wants to explain the facts to the Left leaders and get them to agree to a price hike. The Left has steadfastly opposed this, saying that taxes—a major component of the retail price of oil—should instead be cut. — ENS