Buddhadeb comes under fire from comrades

HYDERABAD: Former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya came under fire from his fellow comrades for not attending the key meetings of the party in Hyderabad."How could he avoid the meetings and escape from giving an explanation to the party on the utter failure of the party in the recent elections,’’ was how several top leaders of the CPM reportedly remarked on the first day of the CPM’s Central Committee meeting on Saturday.It may be recalled that Buddhadev did not attend Friday’s politburo meeting and also avoided the two-day central committee meetings, which commenced here on Saturday.“Buddhadev is the main campaigner in the West Bengal polls. The entire rank and file of the party followed him.He is the man responsible for the party’s defeat. He should have attended the meeting,” several comrades reportedly felt at the meeting.“The worst ever defeat in West Bengal had happened under the leadership of Buddhadev.He should give an explanation for the same.Without his presence and his report, it is absurd for other leaders to discuss the poll outcome,” said a leader.It means that the party supported general secretary Prakash Karat’s line and held Buddhadev squarely responsible for the defeat of the party in West Bengal after 30 years.However, West Bengal state secretary Biman Basu presented a report, which termed the defeat as ‘unexpected’.Sources said the report stated that the internal bickerings in the party and the slogan of ‘change’ given by the Congress-TMC were responsible for the defeat.CPM Central Committee member and opposition leader Suryakanth Misra initiated the discussions.Politburo members Sitaram Yechuri and BV Ragahvulu felt that that the outcome in five state elections did not mean that the voters endorsed the UPA’s economic and liberalisation policies.