By IANS,
Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee says he is trying to bring former party leader Somnath Chatterjee back to the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and has spoken to comrades in Kolkata and Delhi on the issue.
In an interview to Bengali news channel Star Ananda, Bhattacharjee – a member of the CPI-M’s top policy making politburo – said he felt pained at losing a leader of the calibre of Chatterjee.
“Obviously, I miss him. Losing a leader and personality like Somnath-da has caused a lot of pain to the party as also to me at a personal level,” he said.
Chatterjee was expelled by the CPI-M after he went against the party directive and refused to step down as the Lok Sabha speaker during the July 22 trust motion in parliament last year. The Left had decided to vote against the government. Chatterjee is not contesting the elections this time.
The chief minister was responding to a query whether it was possible to keep at bay personal opinions and egos to ensure return of Chatterjee and former MP Saifuddin Chowdhury in the CPI-M.
“An individual doesn’t make the party. The party includes a large number of people. I can only say that I am doing it in my own way,” he replied.
Bhattacharjee, however, refused to give a categorical reply when asked whether he was trying to bring back both Chatterjee and Chowdhury. “I don’t want to say anything so specifically now. I have had discussion with my comrades in Delhi and Kolkata,” he said.
Chowdhury had quit the party, demanding more internal democracy and an understanding with the Congress to keep communal forces at a distance.
Having formed the Party for Democratic Socialism (PDS), Saifuddin Chowdhury is in fray in the Lok Sabha polls from the Jadavpur constituency covering parts of Kolkata and adjoining South 24-Parganas district.