CPI(M) cautions MLA who took part in Congress rally defying party stand

CPI(M)s' West Bengal unit on Sunday cautioned party MLA Tanmoy Bhattacharya, who on Saturday defied the its official stand and took part in a Congress rally.

"It was decided that the Left Front Legislature Party will not join the Congress rally. For defying the decision, we publicly criticise Tanmoy Bhattacharya and hope in the future he will be more cautious," CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra said in a statement. Defying the official stand, CPI(M) legislator Tanmoy Bhattacharya took part in a Congress rally on price rise issue and had said, "nobody has the right to disrespect people's mandate towards the alliance".

"I didn't come here on behalf of my party. I came here as an individual and as a common man of this state as I support the issue on which Congress is conducting a rally here," Bhattacharya had said on Saturday.  On whether his joining the rally would be treated as an act of defiance, he had said, "Nobody has the right to disrespect people's opinion or mandate. Two months back we had fought as an alliance and got 2.15 crore votes. No one can differentiate between the votes of Congress and CPI(M)." "I don't have the audacity to disrespect the opinion of the people and I think nobody else should have that audacity," he had said.

Congress had invited CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra to join the rally. But, after CPI(M)'s Bengal brigade drew flak from the party's central leadership last week over the alliance flouting the party's official line, CPI(M) state leadership and Left Legislature Party had decided not to attend it.