State housing minister Gautam Deb has shocked the party in the run-up to a crucial assembly election with his public posturing on land acquisition and Singur, against the partyline.
Left leaders are playing down the utterances to a TV channel, saying it’s typical Deb-speak??aggressive and sharp?. Deb had told the channel it wouldn’t be possible to set up industry in Bengal only on non-agricultural land. ?It is better to acquire non-agricultural land but the government cannot entirely say no to agricultural land otherwise there will not be any industry in West Bengal,? he said. Deb’s statement may be practical ?only 1% of Bengal’s land is fallow ?but his stand is at variance with the CPM’s Vijawada resolution where it was said that no land should be taken without the landowner’s consent, especially small farmers.
There has been no confusion with what Deb said about the land acquisition procedure, said CPM central committee member Shyamal Chakraborty. ?His comment is in tune with the party line and there is no confusion,? he claimed.
Another CPM leader, requesting anonymity, said: ?He is known for his aggression and snappy and sharp statements. You should not read beyond what he said as he is a member of the central committee and will not say anything not in tune with the party line.?
This is not the first time Deb, who is the party’s most visible face after Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee pre-election, has joined issue with the party on land acquisition and other matters.
Deb had expressed his differences of opinion over the way in which land was acquired in Singur. At several public gatherings, he said that while the Opposition created an issue out of Singur, land acquisition happened peacefully in Rajarhat.
Although Deb has been a minister for long, he came into the limelight after the Vedic Village violence. When TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee said that she would launch a movement against ?unlawful and forcible? land acquisition for New Town, Deb said Rajarhat might turn into her Waterloo if she tried to create disturbances.
According to Amiya Chaudhuri, senior fellow of Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Institute of Social Studies, Deb always used his aggressive nature in a bid to restore confidence among CPM cadres. ?He (Gautam Deb) is being projected by the party after the Rajarhat debate came in. This will work as a moral booster for the party workers,? Chaudhuri said.
CPM leaders close to Deb also feel that such an aggressive nature has actually increased Deb’s acceptance among the rank and file of the party. The party leadership asked Deb to confront Banerjee in his own way and extended every support to him.
?Left Front supporters always want a face who can challenge adversities and has aggression in body language,? said Swapan Gupta, a CPM leader in DumDum.
Gupta said, ?Deb always had a defiant style which attracted masses.?