Trinamul agitation

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 6: Hundreds of Trinamul Congress supporters took out a protest rally in Tufanganj town today. They also submitted a memorandum to the Tufanganj SDO. District Trinamul Congress president Mr Rabindra Nath Ghosh, vice-president Mr Niranjan Dutta and other leaders spoke on the occasion.

 

The Trinamul supporters were demanding rehabilitation of all the affected traders at the same haat from where they were evicted in September. The land was handed over to Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya authorities on 25 August. A few hundred shops were dismantled by the district administration at the haat controlled by the Tufanganj Regulated Market Committee (RMC) on the morning of 25 August. Those shops were dismantled to clear the area for construction of the proposed JNV school building. []

 

Forward Bloc angry with CPI-M

 

COOCH BEHAR, Nov. 6: On 29 October, the two major partners of ruling Left Front - CPI-M and Forward Bloc – had agreed to participate in all programmes and movements of Left Front jointly in Cooch Behar district.

 

Following a decision adopted at the state level (27 October) a meeting of District Left Front was held on 29 October and both the parties had decided to work jointly. But within a few days the renewed honeymoon was tarnished. Both the parties are now spiting fire to each other, as in earlier days. Political observers predict that it may exert influence on the ensuing panchayat elections.

 

Losing two seats in the last Assembly election in Cooch Behar district – Dinhata and Sitai - the Forward Bloc had declared that they would not participate in any programme of Left Front with the CPI-M in Cooch Behar district. They held the CPI-M responsible for the defeats. After demise of the heavyweight FB leader Kamal Guha both the parties were trying to come closer. At last they agreed to delete the divisive line on 29 October. Probably the ensuing three-tier panchayat election did the miracle.

 

CPI-M's Dinhata zonal conference was held at Nripendra Narayan Memorial Hall in Dinhata on 3-4 November. In the secretarial report that was tabled in that conference it was stated that Forward Bloc turned into a decaying party after death of its leader Kamal Guha. In the report it was also mentioned that after launching of The Greater Cooch Behar People's Association (GCPA) many Forward Bloc supporters had joined in that organisation. The report somehow leaked out and the Forward Bloc leadership got angry.

 

Reacting over the CPI-M's observation about their party, a Forward Bloc state secretariat member and also the Cooch Behar (West) MLA Mr Akshoy Thakur said they would prove on 1 December whether their party is decaying or flourishing. A massive gathering will be held on that day at Dinhata on the occasion of three-day special district conference of Forward Bloc. Are the CPI-M leaders blindfolded, he questioned. They should have to take notice of the huge gatherings that were held on 27 October at Dinhata and 1 November at Chandamari in connection with Forward Bloc's local conferences, Mr Thakur said.

 

District CPI-M secretariat member Mr Benubadal Chakraborty however liked to put less importance over the issue. He considers it as nothing to flare up. He said the report was prepared by evaluating the situation of a certain area. He tried to pacify the uproar by saying that the comment in the report has no connection with the entire situation of Cooch Behar district. []