Guru Basu slams protege Subhash

Kolkata, Sep 19 (UNI) Few days after he whipped up a controversy by offering prayers at a temple, West Bengal Transport Minister Subhash Chakraborty today hogged limelight once again taking a harsh rebuff from his 'guru' Jyoti Basu for describing him as 'Krishna'.

" He has gone mad, " was Mr Basu's terse but angry reaction to what his protege had said in an interview published in a Bengali magazine.

The maverick CPI(M) Minister, having a penchant for creating controversies, had said Jyoti Basu was like the 'Krishna' in Mahabharata, having the charisma to get victory for the side he chose to support, and the party needed to project him to expand its base in the country.

But his eulogy for the leader he revers most, backfired.

" If I am mad, why the party has retained me. Why the organisation does not chuck me out, " a hurt Mr Chakraborty said shortly after Mr Basu made the remark emerging out of the party's state committee meeting.

The strong reaction of the nonagenarian Marxist leader came days after he made a sarcastic shot at his protege, saying with age catching up, he(Chakraborty) was probably seeking divine blessings to evade death.

With Communists being popularly perceived as atheists, Mr Chakraborty made headlines in local media when he offered prayers at a temple at Tarapith in Birbhum district on his way back from campaign for byelection in Malda.

To the embarrassment of his party and glee of the BJP, the Minister later defended himself, saying he had every right to worship the god as he was a Hindu and a Brahmin first and then a Communist.

Balancing the party's atheist philosophy with individual belief, a cautious Mr Sitaram Yechuri, party's Polit Bureau member, said on Saturday last that Mr Chakraborty had not flouted any rule in the party by offering prayers. He, however, hoped Marxism would change his bend of mind some day.

" There is no rule in the party that those believing in God cannot become Communist. But I think these people will change if they cling on to Marxism, " he had told reporters.

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 cannot be a member unless he is an atheist, " he said.

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