No mini Front within Left Front: Basu calls for unity

Kolkata, Mar 27 (UNI) As the Nandigram issue pitted the ruling Left Front against a fiercely hostile combined opposition, veteran Marxist leader Jyoti Basu today cautioned the partners that a ''mini'' Front within the Front would only help the ''enemies''.

''No mini Front should be formed within the Left Front as it will only weaken the Left coalition and benefit the enemies as it happened in the past,'' Mr Basu said in an interview to 'Ganashakti', the Bengali mouthpiece of the CPI (M).

His comments came days after the CPI(M) managed a patch up with the Forward Bloc, RSP and CPI--three important Front partners--who threatened to quit the Ministry following the Nandigram police firing, though inner rumblings continued keeping the left unity at low.

Alleging that not a collective leadership but only the CPI(M) was running the coalition Government, the three partners demanded an explanation for the police firing, seeking that the responsibility for the tragic incident be fixed.

In an unprecedented move, leaders of all the three parties came out with open statements condemning the incident and criticising the decision to send police to Nandigram, taken by a Government they were a part of.

However, a crucial Left Front meeting that agreed to take all partners in confidence, ended successfully by offering other promises to assuage the frayed nerves of the partners.

Mr Basu, who was one of the founders of the Left Front that came to power in West Bengal in 1977, took a leading roll in the damage control, snubbing the administration as well as stressing for coordination among partners.

The situation led Mr Basu to recall the formation of the Left Front Government, following a long process after the consecutive fall of the United Front Governments in 1967 and 1969.

''One or two Front partners have been alleging that they are not informed about many decisions. This gives an impression of lack of coordination which has to be admitted. This has to be corrected and the process of negotiations must be continued,'' he said.

UNI