M A I N   N E W S

Left Front crisis deepens

CALCUTTA, March 8 (PTI) — The stand-off in West Bengal’s ruling Left Front today persisted with the CPI, peeved at by denial of Rajya Sabha berth to it, rejecting a Front compromise offer of a seat in the upper House in the next biennial elections.

CPI State Secretary Manju Kumar Majumdar told reporters that there was no change in the decision taken by the party state secretariat to withdrawing from the Jyoti Basu ministry in protest against denial of a ticket to the party for the coming Rajya Sabha polls from the state.

As the CPI central leadership rallied behind the state unit’s decision, the two CPI ministers in the state government, Mr Nandagopal Bhattacharya (Water Investigation) and Mr Srikumar Mukherjee (Civil Defence) did not attend their offices today.

In view of the CPI’s rejection of the proposal, CPM state Secretary Anil Biswas said his party would have no ‘‘obligation’’ to allot one RS seat from its quota to CPI in 2002 poll.

The RSP has already refused to relent to CPI’s request to give it the ticket. As per previous understanding in the LF, the RSP got the nomination this time for the fourth seat in place of All India Forward Bloc.

The LF has decided to field four candidates for the ensuing Rajya Sabha poll — three from CPM and another from RSP — as it has 207 legislators in the state assembly. Each candidate is required to poll 49 votes.

Meanwhile, the Left Front which held a crucial meeting during the day in Calcutta to discuss the situation arising out of CPI’s decision to pull out from the ministry, reiterated its decision that CPM would field candidates in three seats for the R.S poll while another seat was given to the RSP.

CPM leader Biman Bose told reporters his party would allot one seat from its quota to CPI in 2002 Rajya Sabha poll. “In view of this the Front unanimously requests the CPI to withdraw its decision to pull out of the state government”, he said.

All-India Forward Bloc, another partner of the ruling Front, however, supported the claim of the CPI.

AIFB General Secretary Debabrata Biswas said that his party requested CPM, the dominant constituent of the Front, to give one seat to CPI. Revolutionary Socialist Party and Democratic Socialist Party also supported it, he said.