CPI(M) must apologise for attack on Mamata, reiterates West Bengal Governor

Kolkata: With the CPI(M) having claimed that he was unaware of the functioning of the politburo, West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan on Thursday said that he had been a student of Communism for over six decades and was well aware of it.

"The governor has been a student of Communism for over six decades and has read and digested the works of Marx, Engels and Mao and has spoken extensively at national and international conferences on the subject of Communism," a press statement issued by Raj Bhavan said. "He is therefore, well aware of the role and functions of the politburo and central committee of the CPI(M)," it said. "One of the basic axioms of communist ideology was the principle of democratic centralism and it was in this context he has made a suggestion that an apology by the CPIM politburo was warranted for the action of some of the lower functionaries of the party," the statement said. Yesterday, CPI(M) state secretary Biman Bose reacting to Narayanan calling for an apology by the politburo for the attack by the SFI on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Finance minister Amit Mitra in Delhi, had said that though he was a seasoned IPS officer he was unaware of the functioning of the politburo. PTI