Basu wants Chakraborty in state secretariat

Communist Party of India ? Marxist (CPI-M) patriarch Jyoti Basu today expressed his desire to include West Bengal Sports and Transport minister Subhash Chakraborty in the party?s state secretariat, as well as the central committee.

Communist Party of India ? Marxist (CPI-M) patriarch Jyoti Basu today expressed his desire to include West Bengal Sports and Transport minister Subhash Chakraborty in the party?s state secretariat, as well as the central committee.

Addressing the media at his Salt Lake residence today evening, Basu said that although Chakraborty was left out of the party?s revised central committee formed during CPI(M)?s 19th party congress in Coimbatore earlier this week, he personally wished to see Chakraborty figure in both the central committee and state secretariat of CPI(M).

Basu said, “Subhash has not been selected as a member of the central committee, but I wanted him to be there. We will revise our state secretariat after the Panchayat polls in May. There is a seat lying vacant in the state secretariat, I don?t know for whom, but I wish Subhash could occupy it. I will talk to the other party members, as I personally want him to share the responsibilities of the state secretariat as well as the central committee.”

Basu also expressed his gratitude to the CPI(M) members for relieving him and Harkishan Singh Surjeet from the responsibilities of the party?s Politburo. He said, “We had been requesting them for a long time to relieve us of the responsibilities. Finally, they have agreed. Surjeet is two years younger to be, but he is much more ill than I am. Biman (Bose) came and told me that they had relieved us from Politburo, making Surjeet a special invitee in the central committee, and conferring on me the status of a special invitee in the Politburo. They have also retained me in the central committee. I have thanked all of them for this gesture.”

Meanwhile, Subhash Chakraborty has expressed his happiness over Basu?s statement, and said he was ready to shoulder any responsibility if his seniors wanted him to. Chakraborty, however, expressed apprehension that although Basu wanted him to be a part of the party?s state secretariat and central committee, others in the party might not want so. “If they want me to take on greater responsibilities than I am taking now, I would be obliged and would strive hard to live up to their expectations. But I am not sure if all of my seniors want so.”

CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose chose to remain mum of the issue, and only said that he did not want to give any reaction to Basu?s statement. “He is my senior. I have never given counter remarks to his statements in the past, and will not do so in the future also”, said Bose.

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