Mamata's fast hangs in balance

Kolkata, Dec 28 (UNI) An end to the high drama over Ms Mamata Banerjee's indefinite hunger strike hung in balance tonight even as Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee wrote another letter to the Trinamool Congress Chief requesting her to withdraw the 25-day-long fasting.

Trinamool leaders, who were gathered together to take a decision following the Chief Minister's request, stopped discussions midway and decided to meet again tonight.

Party sources said they were awaiting a communication from President A P J Abdul Kalam.

Waving olive branch once again, the Chief Minister sent the conciliatory letter--his fourth to Ms Banerjee in three weeks -- after receiving a phone call from the President in the morning enquiring about the health of Ms Banerjee, whose condition was stated to be ''critical''.

''I have sent a letter. Let us see...let us hope for the best,'' was the stoic remark of Mr Bhattacharjee, while leaving the state secretariat after waiting for Trinamool's decision. He, however, declined to spell out details of his letter.

The Chief Minister's conciliatory letter believed to have contained certain proposals to end the fast, came a day after he talked to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to find a way out of the impasse over the Singur issue.

Earlier Home Secretary Prasad Ranjan Ray said efforts were being made to find a solution to the problem and the Trinamool's decision would be known tonight itself.

Yesterday, the Prime Minister instructed Central authorities to extend whatever medical care was required for the Trinamool Congress supremo who had persistently refused any medical assistance.

She was being attended by her family physicians and two party colleagues, who are medical practitioners. Today, a team of private doctors examined the Trinamool leader and advised her to take semi-liquid food which she refused.

Expressing serious concern over her deteriorating health, former Chief Minister and CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu urged Ms Banerjee to listen to doctors' advice and call off fasting.

Meanwhile, the Army kept ready a team of doctors to attend to the Trinamool Congress Chief as her condition remained critical amidst speculations on a possible breakthrough of the deadlock even as the Chief Minister once again appealed to her to call off the strike.

''We have kept ready a team of army doctors to attend to Ms Banerjee as and when required by her or by her doctors,'' Defence PRO (Eastern wing) R N Das told UNI.

Mr Das said an eight-member panel of Command Hospital doctors has been constituted after a directive from the Prime Minister reached the Army's Eastern Headquarters at Fort Willaims last evening.

The Army doctors would take care of Ms Banerjee who has been put on intermittent oxygen support since Tuesday last, either in the Eastern Command Hospital or at her 'dharna manch' depending on her wish, he said.

EDS: Pick up suitably from earlier series.

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