Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee should have resigned after Nandigram firing: Lakshman Seth

KOLKATA: In a fresh salvo against former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhdadeb Bhattacharjee, CPI(M)'s face during the Nandigram movement and former MP Lakshman Seth today said Bhattacharjee should have resigned after the police firing in 2007 which led to the killing of 14 people.

"Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is talking too much but he should have resigned after the police firing in 2007 which led to the killing of 14 people. After the firing there was no authority in the Left rule, Trinamool Congress was ruling the roost. The Left was virtually out of power," said Seth.

Seth's comments came a day after he praised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's achievements in restoring peace in Darjeeling and Junglemahal.

"The party has become autocratic and only a few people are running the party. When I had placed the report of Nandigram incident to the leadership, they deliberately didn't place it before the state committee as both Bhattacharjee and Biman Bose would have faced criticism," said Seth.

Reacting to the former MP's comments, CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose said it needs to be looked into with whom Seth was having a secret pact.

"When an individual thinks he has become larger than the party, then only he makes such statements. We don't know with whom he is having a covert pact. We will discuss the matter in the party before deciding on the future course of action," he said.

Seth, CPI(M)'s poster boy 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 Bhattacharjee and the party's leadership in Bengal, Seth had lashed out and termed them as "authoritarian" and called for reforms.