Ruling coalition would exist despite fratricidal clashes:Biman Basu

Kolkata, May 16(UNI) Making an appeal to all partners to keep restraint, Left Front Chairman Biman Basu today said the ruling coalition would exist despite fratricidal clashes.

" Such situation, or even worse than it came in the past. But despite that the Front existed and it would remain so also in future since our unity is based on ideology, and not only on seat sharing," he told reporters referring to the recent poll violence at Basanti that involved Front partners CPI(M) and RSP.

Admitting that the Basanti incidents should not have taken place, he called upon the partners to see that such things were not repeated in the third phase of polling on May 18.

Mr Basu said a meeting of the Front would be convened after election results of the Panchayat elections were declared.

Altogether five people, including the wife of RSP Minister Subhash Naskar's nephew, were killed over the past few days in the violence related to the ongoing Panchayat polls in the state.

Three three RSP supporters and a CPI(M) activist were killed in clashes at Basanti in South 24 Parganas district during polling on May 14 while Gouri Naskar, a kin of the Irrigation Minister, was critically injured in an explosion in her house in the same area.

She succumebed to her injuries today.

The RSP alleged that CPI(M) cadres had hurled bombs at the house of the Naskars, resulting in the death of the woman. But the CPI(M) claimed that the explosion was caused by the stockpiled bombs inside the house.

The incidents brought down to further low the already strained relation between the CPI(M) and RSP putting a question mark on the unity in the Front that suffered jolts in recent times on various issues.

Observing that the partners should take lessons from the Basanti incidents, CPI(M) patriarch Jyoti Basu said yesterday that attempts should be made to build up the Front afresh.

Making an appeal to all the Front partners not to be provoked, the Front Chairman said everybody should take the responsibility for maintaining peace. " We have to see that what has happened is not repeated elsewhere. All Front partners have to take the responsibility. Since the CPI(M) is the major force, it will have to share greater responsibility," he said.

Mr Basu said he had telephonic talks with Forward Bloc state Secretary Ashok Ghosh and RSP state Secretary Debabrata Bandopadhya over the issue.

In reply to a question, Mr Basu refused to comment on the cause of the blast in Mr Naskar's house saying the matter was under police investigation.

UNI KDG KK/src1942