Allies raise pitch against CM’s solo show

Meanwhile,the demand for having an official Number 2 in the Left Front government that was raised by PWD Minister Kshiti Goswami now has several takers among the Cabinet members and Front partners.

Goswami,an RSP leader,questioned the abolition of the post of deputy chief minister after Bhattacharjee became the CM. Incidentally,former chief minister Jyoti Basu had created the post to project Bhattacharjee as a chief ministerial candidate in 2001 Assembly elections.

“Why the post was abolished? I think that as a party,the CPM had a problem in appointing someone for the post. But now it is evident that this post is essential for good governance. I shall raise the issue in the next Left Front meeting,” Goswami said.

The Forward Bloc,another Left Front constituent,has also expressed dissatisfaction over the functioning of the government. The party had already expressed its discontentment about the chief minister to CPM state secretary and Left Front chairman Biman Bose during a recent meeting of the Front partners after state Food and Supplies Minister Paresh Adhikary failed to attend a crucial national-level meeting on food crisis and the prevailing drought situation. The reason: the delay in informing him about the meeting.

“We are not happy with the functioning of the government. It is unbelievable that a letter cannot be delivered to a minister. A secretariat cannot run this way. We will raise the issue in the Left Front meeting,” said Hafiz Alam Sairani,a spokesperson of the Bloc.

The CM’s secretariat today washed its hands of the controversial “letter dispatch” issue. Subes Das,Principal Secretary of the CM secretariat,said the letter had never reached the secretariat. “The CM’s secretariat has no connection with the letter issue,” said Das.