CPM,RSP meet to regain harmony

Statesman News Service

MALDA, Jan. 13: In order to maintain unity among the members of the Left Front belonging to the CPI-M and the RSP, the minister for social welfare and jail Mr Biswanath Chowdhury, today blamed the local goons for setting afire two party offices of the CPI-M and the RSP during his visit at Sadar Ghat in Old Malda today. Mr Chowdhury visited party offices of the both parties.Though the local RSP leader, Mr Sarbananda Pande, said that goons allegedly instructed by CPI-M councillor of ward no. 14 of Old Malda municipality torched the party office on 8 January night. The minister told reporters that goons had attacked our party workers and torched our party office. “Miscreants are trying to put a political hue to it,” he told reporters. On 9 January night, the CPI-M backed Citu party office was torched, which was located within 50 metres from the RSP's damaged party office. Initially it was reported that RSP workers torched the party office to take revenge. The RSP and CPI-M district secretaries, Mr Goutam Gupta and Mr Jiban Moitra, today addressed a joint meeting of two parties there demanding arrest of criminals who torched the party office indirectly and blamed the local Congress leaders behind the incident providing shelter to the guilty. Though the RSP and the CPI-M had lodged an FIR with the Malda police station but so far only one person was arrested and remanded in jail custody. The RSP district secretary, Mr Goutam Gupta, said police could not arrest the main culprit named in the FIR who were engaged in ‘illicit’ liquor trade and ‘illegal’ diesel and patrol selling business from the IOC's dump, torched both party offices here and trying to create misunderstandings between RSP and the CPI-M and spread political tension in the area. The CPI-M district secretary Mr Jiban Moitra also said that the goons had torched Citu's party office.