The Left’s dilemma over beef ban issue once again came to the fore when several Left Front allies criticised senior Communist Party of India(Marxist) [(CPI(M)] leader and former Kolkata mayor Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya for participating in a ‘beef eating’ event in the city.
The event was held last month in protest against the ban on beef in some State.
At a Left Front meeting held on Wednesday, key constituents the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the All-India Forward Bloc slammed Mr. Bhattacharya and said that his participation in the event may “hurt the sentiments of a section of society”.
“During the meeting, CPI’s State Secretariat member Swapan Banerjee said that Mr. Bhattacharya should not have participated in the beef-eating event as it may create negative impression on a section of the society,” a senior Left Front leader told The Hindu .
He also said the CPI leadership expressed its displeasure over the “media hype” created by the organiser’s of the event. “Mr. Banerjee wondered what Mr. Bhattacharya was trying to prove by taking part in that protest. He said that food habits are one’s personal matter. He could have eaten beef at home,” the Front leader added. According to Front insiders, senior Forward Bloc leader Hafiz Alam Sairani also criticised Mr. Bhattacharya’s actions.
“Left Front chairman Biman Basu also agreed that it would have been better if Mr. Bhattacharya did not take part in the event,” sources said.
It was also learnt that CPI(M) State secretary Surjya Kanta Mishra spoke to Mr. Bhattacharya in this regard. On being asked about the development, Mr. Bhattacharya said that even though the party State secretary spoke to him on the issue, there was “no criticism”.
Mr Mishra refused to comment about the event. “Left’s view has been discussed in the (earlier) press conference,” he said.
Earlier Mr. Basu told journalists that the event organised by an organisation Bhasa-O-Chetna Samity (Language and Conscience Forum). “It was not a Left Front programme,” he said.
Mr Bhattacharaya, however, said that protest against growing intolerance needs to continue. “There may be difference of opinion on the way of the protest. But the time has come to raise our voice against the growing intolerance in the country,” Mr. Bhattacharya said.
It would have been better if Mr. Bhattacharya had not taken part in the event: Biman Basu
