On more than one occasion in the week, two Left Front ministers one belonging to the CPI(M) and other to the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) caused deep embarrassment to the party.

Goswami's statement at a foundation-stone laying function for a road over bridge in Sonarpur on Monday that getting funds for developmental projects, particularly which had to get clearance from the state Finance and Urban Development Ministries, ``are becoming difficult'', pushed the CPI(M) to an unenviable position.

With Subhas Chakraborty, an influential state CPI(M) leader and the state TransportMinister, whose lavish praises for Mamata have already deepened the discomfort of his party bosses, Goswami's statement only served to rub salt on the CPI(M)'s wounds.

Reacting to Goswami's statement, Ashok Bhattacharya (without naming Goswami) told reporters yesterday that it would be better ``if we try to avoid politics over developmental issues''.

Saying that actually the foundation-stone for the overbridge in Sonarpur had been laid in 1996, Bhattacharya felt there was no need to enact another foundation-stone laying function for an old project.

While Bhattacharya apparently blamed Mamata for doing politics with `old projects', he blamed RSP Minister Goswami for taking the issues to Opposition leaders.

Incidentally, Goswami who shared the platform with Mamata on that day, addressed her as his ``younger sister''.

Saying that, ``The minister should have asked me why the fund could not be mobilised for the Sonarpur over-bridge project instead of taking the issue to public,'' Bhattacharya toldreporters, ``Actually I am trying to defend his (Goswami's) ministry.''

Interestingly, earlier, Subhas Chakraborty's praises for Mamata had forced the CPI(M) to tell its ministers to take permission from state Home Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya before they chose to interact with Union Ministers like Mamata. But that didn't prevent Chakraborty from repeating his earlier feat this week and the CPI(M)'s state secretary Anil Biswas did not allow it to go without a protest either. He found ``such indulgence'', without any tangible gains yet from the Railway Ministry ``is impulsive and irresponsible''.