CPI(M) MLA defies party to attend Congress rally, says he respects people's mandate towards alliance

Defying the official stand of CPI(M), party MLA Tanmoy Bhattacharya on Saturday took part in Congress' rally on price rise issue and said 'nobody' has the right to disrespect the people's mandate towards 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 the Congress is conducting a rally here," Bhattacharya said. On whether his joining the rally would be treated as an act of defiance, Bhattacharya 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 could 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 said.

Congress had invited CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra to join the rally. But after CPI(M)'s Bengal brigade faced flak from the party's central leadership last week over the alliance flouting the official party line, the party's state leadership on Friday had decided not to join the rally.