Malda LF to hold review meeting

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Feb. 21: The Malda district Left Front convener Mr Jiban Moitra would convene a meeting soon and seek clarification from the district leaders of the CPI and Forward Bloc about two members of Malda Zilla Parishad who had violated the party’s direction and extended support to the Congress-led minority board in passing the annual budget. The meeting is being viewed as a damage control exercise and to alert the Malda district Left Front leaders about the shaken unity.It may be recalled that the district CPI-M leaders as well as the LF convener Mr Jiban Moitra informed district party leaders to convey the decision to boycott the annual budget meeting of the MZP on 19 February. Both the CPI and FB suspended their two party members, Mr Suresh Saha and Mr Khoka Orao respectively on the charge of breaking the party’s direction.The CPI and FB leaders have also urged state committee leaders to expel the two rebel leaders from their parties.Speaking to The Statesman, though Mr Jiban Moitra was not agreed to comment critically on the matter. The embarrassed LF leader, who is also the CPI-M district secretary, said: “We would discuss the matter threadbare in the next meeting soon.” The two fallen persons Mr Saha, a CPI district committee member of the CPI and Mr Orao, a senior leader of the FB were not in contact with their respective party leadership and extended support to pass the Congress led minority board’s annual budget held on 19 February.“We never thought that being a district committee member Suresh Saha would extend support to the Congress led board secretly. It has damaged our party image and would take time to recover the loss,” said Mr Nikhil Jha, CPI district committee member and district secretary of its peasant wing. “The decision to expel Mr Saha was taken at a district committee meeting. The matter has been informed to the state committee. We do not know about the state committee’s decision yet,” he added. In reply to clarification sought by his party on his act, Mr Saha told his party associates that he had done so in the interest of the people of Malda. On the other hand, the FB district secretary, Mr Jiaul Hossain did not bother to seek clarification from Mr Khoka Orao and decided to expel him from the party blaming he had lined his pocket for the support. Though the CPI and FB leaders are upset over the disunity among the members they are asking questions about the decision to boycott the annual budget meeting of the MZP. A senior district leader of the CPI, said: “The budget meeting was scheduled to be held at 12 noon at MZP but the LF had called all the crucial meeting around 1.30 pm at the CPI-M party office. The LF convener should have called the meeting before 12 noon to convey the decision to all members