Rift In Cpm On Joining Uf Govt Not A Secret: Basu

West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu yesterday said that it was not a secret that there was a division among the central committee members of the party regarding the question of joining the United Front (UF) government.

A minority in the committee thought that it was good to join the government, but majority thought that it was a blunder, Basu said adding that I am in the minority.

We have to go by the majority decision, Basu told reporters.

Basu said that he did not wish to react on the criticism of his statement that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) committed a historic political blunder in not joining the UF government at the Centre. It was a closed chapter and had become history, he added.

He also ruled out the possibility of the CPI (M) reconsidering its decision not to join the UF government. It cannot be reconsidered and there is no question of reconsidering it, he said. To a query, Basu said that his party was satisfied with the performance of the Deve Gowda government in certain aspects and not in some other. We are not agreeing with their industrial policy, he said.

Welcoming the setting up of a committee with Union home minister Indrajit Gupta as chairman to take up issues concerning the Centre-state relations, Basu said that nothing has been done in this respect for the last 20 years.

Basu said that there was no immediate threat to the Union government following changes in the Congress leadership.

He said that the Congress was not in a position to form a government in the Centre if it withdraws support to the UF government.

Even if the Congress forms a government after becoming the single largest party, it would be voted out of power in Parliament, he said.I do not think any other political combination will be able to form a government at the Centre, he added.

Basu said that further bifurcation of states would break the country. He said that Gorkhaland issue was a solved one, but with the announcement of separate statehood for Uttarakhand, passions have risen in Darjeeling also.

He said that issues in these places have to be solved through correct economic policies.

Basu said that his party opposed the entry of foreign companies in the insurance sector.

As a piece of advice to his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, N Chandrababu Naidu on prohibition, Basu said that the prohibition has not succeeded in any part of the world.

Bootleggers would be the happiest persons when prohibition was introduced in a place, he said.

In a related development, expelled party leader Gobin Chhetri yesterday said that disciplinary action should be initiated against Basu for his recent comment on the party's