Malda Cong in solidarity show

Statesman News Service

MALDA,( India) , Nov. 27 — In a show of solidarity with Mr Adhir Chowdhury’s supporters, Mr ABA Ghani Khan Choudhuri and the Malda district Congress president, Mrs Rubi Noor, said they had decided to send two of their representatives to join the agitation tomorrow when Mr Chowdhury would be produced in court.

The announcement coincided with the PCC executive committee meeting on the issue today. Mrs Noor said: “The police could not restore peace in Sujapur and Kaliachak areas. Peace cannot be restored in ‘lawless’ Kaliachak police station area until the CPI-M leader who is the mastermind behind the clash between various groups including criminals and political supporters is arrested’’.

The district Congress president has criticised the role of the police for arresting dozens of people including innocent ones from that area.

“The police have not arrested the CPI-M leaders even after they were accused of several criminal cases”, Mrs Noor alleged.

On the other hand, Mr Dilip Kumar Mondal, the Malda SP, said: “We have already arrested more than a dozen criminals and their leaders will be arrested soon”.

It was reported that the Malda SP had conducted a peace meeting at Sujapur on the request of Mr Ghani Khan Choudhury a few days ago after serial political clashes between two groups of criminals that claimed five lives this year.

Mrs Noor denied any difference of opinion among the Malda Congress leaders on the Adhir issue at a time when Union defence minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee talked tough at a PCC executive meeting in Kolkata against legislature party leader Mr Atish Sinha for his conflicting views.

“Mr Sinha was not correct in his stand when he said that Adhir is anti-social”, Mr Mukherjee said criticising Mr Sinha, yesterday. “Atish will have to face the consequences”, Mr Mukherjee announced.

The Malda Congress leaders, including the zilla parishad sabhadhipati, Mr Goutam Chakraborty, termed Mr Chowdhury as the “ muscleman” in Congress politics.

Factional feuds mark PCC meet

Even as Congress MP Mr Adhir Chowdhury is cooling his heels in jail, a perennially divided state Congress leadership today failed to come up with a spirited campaign against the CPI-M’s ‘political conspiracy’ to keep him behind bars till the Assembly poll.

Instead, the PCC leaders were busy in factional feuds during the PCC executive committee meeting held this afternoon. The meeting was called to chalk out agitation programmes on the issue.

PCC president and defence minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee later announced that some of the party MLAs and leaders, including the chiefs of four frontal organisations, would attend three protest rallies at Behrampore tomorrow.

Mr Chowdhury will be produced before the court tomorrow. Mr Mukherjee made it clear that party workers would not be allowed to defy the prohibitory order that had been clamped on the court premises.

While Kolkata’s former mayor Mr Subrata Mukherjee and former MP Mr Sudip Banerjee and senior MLAs including Mr HC Khan Choudhury, Mr Abdul Mannan and Mr Sankar Singh would attend the rallies, party heavyweights like Mr Somen Mitra and Mr Pradip Bhattacharjee would be conspicuous by their absence.

While the faction close to the Union information and broadcasting minister Mr Priya Ranjan Das Munshi had insisted on announcing the date for ‘Writers’ siege’, Mr Mukherjee said there were several proposals including the one for a Bangla Bandh.

The programmes will be declared at the Congress rally at Shahid Minar on 3 December in Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta.

Indicating his displeasure with state Congress legislature party leader Mr Atish Sinha for his refusal to attend the rallies in favour of Mr Chowdhury, the PCC president said: “ we are examining procedures before taking action against him.’’

The veteran CLP leader is known as the bete noire of the jailed MP in the district party.

The PCC office today witnessed slogan-shouting by some Congress workers who were demanding expulsion of ‘traitor Sinha’ while another group raised slogans hailing Nadia Congress chief Mr Sankar Singh, considered close to Mr Chowdhury. # Additional reporting by Kolkata office .

Posted on 28 Nov. 2005 at 18.50 (hours) IST.