Defying diktat of the party mandarins not to criticise the party line in public, former state land and land reforms minister and state committee member of the Marxist party Abdur Rezzak Mollah on Wednesday fired another salvo against the party satraps.
Claiming that “he will have more freedom in the Assembly than in the Alimuddin Street party headquarters,” Mr Mollah pointed out that it was the “faulty and arbitrary land acquisition policy of the previous Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government” that had become the nemesis of the party and finally led to the catastrophe of the CPI(M).
Mr Mollah, who had twice been censured and often chided by the party for his anti-party utterances, said: “The party now needs a structural change (organisation) and a mere cosmetic change will do little for a comeback in Bengal politics.”
Sources revealed Mr Mollah’s prescription for a structural change in the party organisation was actually reflecting a voice within the CPI(M) for a change of guard in the party echelons. It maybe recalled that expelled party leader Somnath Chatterjee had said after the poll debacle: “Now I think more heads must roll or should have rolled than it was at that time (Lok Sabha elections).”
Mr Mollah, who had a couple of years ago, criticised the affairs in the state CPI(M), saying it was adulterated both at the top and bottom (oporey bhejal, tolai bhejal), was censured (shown the red card) by the party in a state committee meeting.