Top CPM leaders on Tuesday skipped former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu?s condolence meeting, organized by city chambers, for reasons quite incomprehensive to the industry captains.
While names of CPM politburo member Sitaram Yechury, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, state industry minister Nirupam Sen and Left Front chairman Biman Bose appeared on the official invite, only Biman Bose finally turned up as the lone representative.
The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Bengal National Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Bharat Chamber of Commerce, Calcutta Chamber of Commerce, Indian Chamber of Commerce, Merchants? Chamber of Commerce and Oriental Chamber of Commerce jointly organized a 50 minutes condolence meet.
Although officials of the chambers tried to explain that the political dignitaries could not turn up because of their extremely busy schedule, all of them earlier confirmed that they would attend the meeting.
However, political observers felt that the CPM was now trying show that it was distancing itself from the industrialist?s camp because Bhattacharjee?s pro- industrialist gesture did not go well with its party image.
Basu as a matter of fact had always maintained a safe distance from the chambers and had consciously avoided a pro-industrialist image, observers felt.