The CPM continued attacking Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi for going ahead with his decision to have a two-hour voluntary powercut at Raj Bhavan.
Party patriarch and former chief minister Jyoti Basu today described Gandhi’s action as “childish” and said the decision was against the state government.
“His action is not in keeping with the dignity of his office. He should have discussed the issue with state’s power minister and inquired about the power situation,” the veteran leader said after emerging from a routine state secretariat meeting held on Friday.
Party sources added that the step taken by Gandhi has already embarrassed the party and the government. “The party has decided to slam the Governor’s ‘popular’ way of protest — the second since his criticism of the violence in Nandigram,” said a senior leader of the CPM.
But unlike Basu and party state secretary Biman Bose, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee chose to avoid a controversy, saying he would not comment on the issue.
Asked if he, too, was in favour of the abolition of the post of Governor, Bhattacharjee skirted the question, saying that the Centre has set up a commission to examine Centre-state relations.
“Major issues of Centre-state relations are yet to be addressed. When this Commission starts functioning, our party will submit a memorandum,” said Bhattacharjee.
The party has already adopted a resolution in its Coimbatore congress that the Centre should select the Governor from a panel prepared by the chief minister of the concerned states. Gandhi had voluntarily asked for two-hour power-cuts at the Raj Bhavan since Wednesday, in a show of support for the people of the state who are reeling under powercuts.
A section of the CPM brass now feel that the Governor’s post should be abolished altogether since it is a colonial legacy.