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Bengal Congressmen see red over Pranab Mukherjee's appointment as PCC chief

Rifat Jawaid in Calcutta

The All India Congress Committee's decision to appoint Congress Working Committee member Pranab Mukherjee as the new Pradesh Congress Committee chief has sparked off controversy in the Congress.

His opponents accuse Mukherjee of being a stooge of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), primarily to ensure his election to the Rajya Sabha. Secondly, though the general impression has been that Trinamul Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had left the Congress due to her differences with the then PCC president Somen Mitra, Mukherjee's detractors accuse him of playing a dubious role in the entire episode.

The PCC chief designate held a series of meetings with party legislators in Calcutta on Sunday. Apparently, a large number of them minced no words in criticising Mukherjee on his face and warned him to stay away from the party's West Bengal affairs.

PCC working president Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi is none too pleased with Mukherjee. A senior leader and Dasmunshi confidant told rediff.com that there will be a mass exodus from the Congress if Mukherjee's appointment is not revoked. "It will be suicidal for the party. We had experienced a new lease of life after the municipal elections where the Congress did remarkably well and captured 19 civic boards on its own."

"The AICC wants to hand over charge of the state unit to a person known for his allegiance to CPI-M general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet. It appears that the central leadership is not interested in West Bengal. Under the circumstances, how can we say that the Congress is not functioning as stooges of the CPI-M?" he asked.

Political analysts expect a major development in the next few days, which would eventually determine the political fate of the almost dormant Congress in West Bengal. AICC president Sonia Gandhi is holding talks with state leaders and is expected to take a final decision on the PCC chief's appointment later on Monday.

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