Governor address delayed for CM's answer

KOLKATA: In the backdrop of the government's tussle with the state election commission over the conduct of the panchayat polls, the debate on governor M K Narayanan's address in the state assembly was extended for a day - till Thursday - to apparently allow the chief minister to reply to it.
The chief minister - who left for a two-day tour to West Midnapore and Bankura - will not attend the three-day debate which would otherwise have ended on Wednesday.
Ironically, the debate on the governor's address was postponed after the budget debate to fit in a possible panchayat poll announcement.
State panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee even held several parleys with panchayat department secretary Saurabh Das on Monday, but did not elaborate on it.
It was thought Mukherjee will meet the CM and take a final call on the poll dates, before she left for her district tour, but nothing of the sort happened.
The state intends to re-emphasize to the commission on its two-day poll plan with at least one armed cop for each of the 59,000-odd poll booths. The poll panel, however, is bent on a three-day plan with central paramilitary forces. Sources said protracted backdoor negotiations indicate the SEC may drop its central force demand (barring Jangalmahal), if the state agrees to a three-day poll plan.
The official reason to extend the debate stems from the fact that the stipulated 12-hour time for it couldn't be completed in three days. The debate schedule added up to 11 hours and therefore another hour had to be added on Thursday to allow assembly opposition leader Surjya Kanta Mishra to speak followed by the chief minister's reply.
But the constant delay in announcing the poll date hasn't gone down well with the CPM. Abdur Rezzak Mollah said: "Eta protarona (This is betrayal). They've gone back on their word. An assembly precedence was broken for the panchayat polls. It appears the state government will never allow the panchayat poll with central forces for they are also aware that the political backdrop has changed in their 22-month reign. The Mamata Banerjee charisma has ebbed."
The chief minister - who left for a two-day tour to West Midnapore and Bankura - will not attend the three-day debate which would have otherwise culminated on Wednesday. Ironically, the debate on the Governor's address was postponed after the budget debate to fit in a possible panchayhat poll announcement. State panchayat minister Subrata Mukherjee held several parleys of meeting with panchayat department secretary Saurabh Das in his Assembly chambers on Monday afternoon. Mukherjee, later left, refusing to elaborate on it further.
It was widely anticipated, that Mukherjee will meet the chief minister and take a final call on the poll dates - or the government's strategy to end the stalemate with state election commission (SEC) - before the chief minister left Kolkata. However, nothing happened, keeping the panchayat polls in a limbo.
The state intends to re-emphasize to the SEC on its two-day poll plan with at least one armed cop for every 59,000-odd poll booths statewide. The SEC is bent on a three-day poll plan with central paramilitary forces. However, sources said protracted backdoor negotiations indicate the SEC may drop its central force demand (barring Jangalmahal) if the state agrees to a three-day poll plan, with the latter to decide how it will pan out state-wide. Mukherjee has indicated that any change in the state government's intent will hinge on the chief minister. She is also expected to give her final nod to the letter to SEC which will pave way for the formal poll notification. The SEC, incidentally, completed its electoral roll revisions completing the last logistical hitch for the rural polls.
Technically, the official reason to extend the debate by another hour was due to the fact that the stipulated 12-hour time allotted for this debate couldn't be completed in three days till Wednesday. The debate schedule only added up to 11 hours and therefore another hour had to be added on Thursday to allow Assembly Opposition leader Surjya Kanta Mishra to speak followed by the chief minister's reply.
CPM's Abdur Rezzak Mollah questioned the government's intent. "Eta protarona. They've gone back on their word. An assembly precedence was broken for the panchayat polls. It never happened. It appears the state government will never allow the panchayat poll with central forces. For they are also aware the political backdrop has changed in their 22-month reign. The Mamata Banerjee charisma has ebbed," he said.
Mollah said, "They feel if they somehow win 14 zilla parishads they will be able to send 30/31 MPs to Lok Sabha and therefore have a say in the next government formation at the Centre. They even want to get the railway ministry back. But this will remain a dream. If central forces are deployed this will not happen. By delaying the poll announcement they are also deferring the poll code of conduct. Due to it we have no independent agency to lodge our complaints," he added.