Pressure isn’t the word West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee would use in reference to his weekend meeting with PM Manmohan Singh. ‘‘I was certainly not demanding my pound of flesh,’’ he told reporters at Writers’ Building today. ‘‘For this is not my way.the PMO is not a shopping mall.’’He, however, gave strong indication that neither Coal India nor Damodhar Valley Corporation offices would be allowed to be shifted from Kolkata. In the same breath, Bhattacharjee said the Left was not pressuring the Centre. ‘‘Only because we’re supporting this Government, we’re not into any pressure tactics. At least, this isn’t the way I would do things.’’Bhattacharjee did, however, stress he would not ignore the problems faced by his state. He said he had invited the Prime Minister and I&B Minister Jaipal Reddy to visit the state. He said his meeting with the Prime Minister was aimed at understanding his government’s attitude towards reforms, CMP, industries and other important issues. ‘‘We have fiscal problem, Ganga-Padma embankment erosions, interest rates on small savings, Indo-Bhutan Joint Commission, Bengal’s jute industry and several other things.And I would take it up with the converned ministries,’’ he said, adding the Left would drive a ‘‘hard bargain’’ on such issues.Back home, the Cabinet downsizing has been smooth so far. Left Front ally, the RSP, has named Amalendra Lal Roy as the minister to be dropped. Instead, the RSP’s Minister of State for Irrigation, Ganesh Mondal, will be elevated to Cabinet rank. The Forward Bloc will name its minister tommorow. The flab cut is likely to be completed this week.
