By IANS
Kolkata : The Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) Thursday decided not to quit West Bengal’s ruling Left Front, even as it vowed to continue its fight against the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), which leads the coalition, over the Nandigram violence.
“We have taken a unanimous decision not to quit the Left Front,” RSP state secretary Debabrata Banerjee told reporters after a party meeting here.
“RSP leader and PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami had expressed his desire to resign, but it has not been accepted,” he said.
Banerjee said the RSP will continue its fight against the CPI-M from within the Left Front.
Goswami had written to his party bosses Nov 10, expressing his desire to resign from the state cabinet soon after the violent “recapture” of Nandigram by CPI-M cadres and hinted at his displeasure with that party.
Veteran CPI-M leader Jyoti Basu had earlier urged Goswami to stay on for the sake of the Left unity.
The minister had not been attending his office or using his official car for some time.
Goswami later said, “I have to accept the decision of the party. When my party has asked me to stay on, I cannot quit. My party’s prestige matters more to me than my own.”
RSP along with the Forward Bloc and the Communist Party of India had earlier held the CPI-M solely responsible for the recent violence in Nandigram.