Chakraborty did not commit sacrilege : Yechuri

Kolkata, Sep 16 (UNI) Balancing the party's atheist philosophy with individual belief, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechuri today said West Bengal Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty did not flout any norm by offering prayers to the God, but hoped that Marxism would change his bent of mind some day.

''There is no rule in the party that those believing in God can not become Communist. But I think these people will change if they cling on to Marxism,'' he told reporters in reply to a question.

''There has been a debate as to whether God created man or man created God. We, the Communists, say that man created God and not the other way round,'' Mr Yechuri said clarifying the party's philosophy.

His comments came two days after the maverick CPI(M) Minister offered prayers at the famous Tarapith temple in Birbhum district on his way back from campaign for Malda byelection.

With the Marxists being popularly perceived as atheists, the incident created a flutter and hit the headlines. The Minister, having a penchant for getting embroiled in news making controversies, however, defended himself saying that he was a devout and a Brahmin having the right to offer prayers to the God.

However, veteran leader Jyoti Basu, the political 'guru' of Mr Chakraborty, said with age catching up, he(Chakraborty) was probably seeking divine blessings to evade death.

Observing that religion was the personal affair of an individual, CPI(M) state committee Secretary Biman Basu said the party had not asked Mr Chakraborty to give any explanation. ''There is no provision in the party's constitution that one can not be a member unless he is an atheist,'' he said.

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