On a day when the ruling Left Front suffered a major electoral setback as the Trinamool-Congress combine wrested the Siliguri Municipal Board from it after 27 years, the chief secretary had to beat a retreat when Trinamool supporters forced him to change the venue of a key meeting he was presiding over.

The meeting of a committee of secretaries, presided over by Chief Secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti, was being held at South 24-Parganas Zilla Parishad Bhavan at Alipore when Trinamool supporters landed at the venue in full numbers. After all requests by officers and the chief secretary to calm the protesters led by Trinamool-run South 24-Parganas Zilla Parishad sabhadipati Shamima Shaikh fell flat, the officers had to back off. The venue of the meeting was finally shifted to the Writers’ Building.

Trinamool activists alleged that the chief secretary was acting on behalf of the ruling CPM. “The meeting was held in the Zilla Parishad Bhavan and issues related to development of the district were being discussed. When we came to know about this, we went and asked the Chief Secretary why we were not invited. ‘Who are you?’ he shot back and threatened to teach me a lesson,” said Shovon Chatterjee, Trinamool leader and vice-chairman of South 24-Parganas district planning board. One of the leaders was heard telling the officers: “A wind of change is blowing and you can’t sense it. You will have to face the music for that.” During the whole episode, the police remained mute spectators.

... contd.