Kolkata: Stung by CPI(M) criticism of her
not attending Jyoti Basu's last journey, Trinamool Congress
supremo Mamata Banerjee today alleged she had been harassed
and abused by CPI-M workers when she had gone to see the
ailing leader in hospital and would stay away from a
condolence meeting for the late leader on January 24.
"I am not a CPI(M)'s servant that they will dictate where
I should go. I showed enough courtesy. I had gone to the AMRI
hospital to see Basu twice and once again after hearing his
death to pay respects", she said.
Banerjee alleged that whenever she had gone to the
hospital, she had been harassed by CPI-M workers "who hurled
abuses at me and passed adverse comments."
She said neither she nor anyone else from her party would
attend the condolence meeting for Basu planned by CPI(M) at
Shahid Minar Maidan on January 24.
"How can I go there when they (CPI-M) are speaking about
us in such terms? Let our respect be reserved for the person
who has passed away", the Trinamool chief said.
Claiming she had kept quiet even after such adverse
comments at her Banerjee said "in the last few years, I had
developed cordial relations with Jyoti Babu. I used to go
there (to his house) to meet him occasionally."
Banerjee referred to how CPI(M) members had made a
'murderous attempt' on her in 1990 and how she was 'thrown
out' of the state secretariat, the Writers' Buildings'.
"Did CPI(M) leaders come to attend the last journey of
former chief ministers Prafulla Chandra Sen and Ajoy
Mukherjee?" she said adding "let us not open the Pandora's
box".
Banerjee said "when Ajoy Mukherjee died, we along with
Subrata Mukherjee, took the body to the Assembly. The CPI-M
leaders were not there".
She claimed her party's flag flew half mast everywhere in
the state to show respect to Jyoti Basu.
The Trinamool chief signed off by saying "if I am at
all invited to attend the condolence meeting, I will not go."
PTI
First Published: Thursday, January 21, 2010, 23:03