Bengal alliance: After Splitting Comrades, Tie-up Creates Cracks in Congress

KOLKATA: The bonhomie between the Marxists and the Congress in Bengal seems to have not only split the comrades, it has also blown the lid off a rift brewing up in the Grand Old Party since the two rivals forged an alliance to take on Trinamool Congress in the Assembly polls.
Manas Bhunia, who is in the eye of the storm in the state Congress, smells a conspiracy hatched by the party's Bengal unit chief Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Opposition leader Abdul Mannan. "They know that I always abide by the AICC rules. That is why they are trying to create an anti-party image of me. This is a conspiracy to sideline me in the party," he told ET.

Trouble started brewing soon after Congress forged partnership with the CPM but the schism became evident after Speaker Biman Bandopadhyay named Bhunia as chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, instead of CPM leader Sujan Chakraborty, whose name was suggested by Congress.

"I was not even consulted before Sujan Chakraborty's name was proposed. Why should we give away such an important position to the CPM?" wondered Bhunia. "The post always goes to the Opposition party in the Assembly and the CPM doesn't have the Opposition status in the House," Bhunia said. "The decision was not taken by an individual," Om Prakash Mishra, state Congress general secretary, told ET. "It was decided by the AICC, and the legislature party that Bhunia must step down.The AICC has also approved our choice of a CPM leader as PAC chief."

On July 4, the same day when Bhunia was declared PAC chairman, a local court issued an arrest warrant against him and some of his men for the murder of Joydeb Jana, a Trinamool worker in West Midnapore.Bhunia met Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee the same day, fuelling speculation of defection to the Trinamool camp.

"He is being used by Trinamool," said Chowdhury. "The party is contemplating disciplinary action against him. A murder case has been lodged against him and the warrant is also out. He is disturbed and that is why he is indulging in anti-party activities."