In an embarrassment to party leadership, CPI(M) leader and party's face during the Nandigram movement, Lakshman Seth today praised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's achievement in restoring peace in Darjeeling and Junglemahal.
"She is doing a great job. She has restored peace in Darjeeling and Junglemahal. She has the guts to stand in Darjeeling and say that division of West Bengal will not be allowed. We didn't have this guts and boldness to deal with such situations during our tenure," said Seth.
Seth, CPI(M)'s face during the Nandigram movement in 2007, which catapulted Mamata Banerjee to the helm of affairs in the state, has been at loggerheads with the party's state leadership after an inquiry commission was initiated to look into allegations of corruption and misuse of party post.
The CPI(M)'s state control commission has already started a probe into the allegation of corruption and anti-party activities of Seth, following which he sent a letter to the party leadership expressing his desire to quit from all posts and the party itself.
Earlier this month, without naming former Chief Minister and CPI(M) Politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee as well as the party's leadership in Bengal, Seth had lashed out and termed them as "authoritarian" and called for reforms.
He had also compared Bhattacharjee, without taking his name, to King Lear and observed that the party too would face its Waterloo like the Communist rule in Russia did in 1991.
Meanwhile, expelled CPI(M) leader and popular minority leader Abdur Rezzak Mollah has also lashed out at Bhattacharjee today and termed him as an "impure" Communist.
"The future of Communism is bright. But first these impure Communists like Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Nirupam Sen should be chucked out. Then the health of CPI(M) will improve," said Mollah.
Mollah was reacting to the interview of Bhattacharjee to PTI, where he had claimed that expulsion of Rezzak from the party would improve the health of CPI(M).
