Comrade’s death brings Somnath,Buddha together on CPM stage

It was a party event arranged by the South 24 Parganas district CPM committee,it had the sanction of the CPM state secretariat and was attended by several leaders,including state committee member Rabin Deb and former MP Sujan Chakraborty. This was the first such event after Chatterjee’s expulsion last year in which the CM had shared the stage with him.

The party’s Bengali mouthpiece in Kolkata,Ganashakti,even reported key excerpts of Chatterjee’s speech today.

The former Speaker,echoing the thoughts of many a comrade in the state,referred to the “difficult times” Communism was passing through and said: “People are the source of strength for the Leftists. It is with the help of the people that we will have to resist the attacks on Marxists in West Bengal and efforts being made to block progress in the state.”

Santimoy Bhattacharya,district secretary of the CPM,when asked about Chatterjee’s presence said: “The party never told us that he could not be invited. Was it illegal to invite him to Comrade’s death brings Somnath,Buddha together on CPM stage share the stage? After all,it was a condolence meeting.”

Most senior party leaders downplayed the event saying this was not a “party organization” programme. Mohammed Salim,former Lok Sabha member for instance,said: “Pranab Sen worked closely with Somnath Chatterjee. So he joined us to condole the death.”

Said Hasim Abdul Halim,Speaker of the West Bengal Assembly and Chatterjee’s close friend: “What’s wrong if he joined us?”

The meeting also reflects the deep unease in the state unit over Chatterjee’s expulsion,seen as being rammed down by the central leadership in Delhi.

In fact,CPM leader Subhash Chakravarty,who passed away last month,had written to the state leadership asking for Chatterjee’s re-instatement and his move is said to have had the backing of a significant section of the party in the state.

Asked about the possibility of a return to the party,Chatterjee had told The Indian Express: “Not on my account,not on my initiative…I am no longer of any use to the party. The party has no use for me.”

When contacted,CPM Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said that getting Chatterjee back was “absolutely not on the party’s agenda.” Speaking from Hyderabad where he had gone to attend Y S R Reddy’s funeral,Yechury said there was nothing wrong in Chatterjee attending yesterday’s function. “Somnathda knew Pranabda for long and they worked together. It was one friend attending the condolence meet of another friend and we are looking at this issue that way.”