The Chief Minister of West Bengal, in connection to the recent CPI (M) led assault in Nandigram, made two statements that have been recorded both by the print and electronic media.
On 13.11.2007 he said that in Nandigram “the people who suffered were paid back in their own coin”.
He repeated the above statement in a press conference on 14.11.2007. When questioned, in the same Press Conference, whether his aforementioned statement was not more fitting for a CPI (M) spokesman than for a Chief Minister, the Chief Minister replied that “As I have taken the oath as a chief minister, I am aware of my constitutional duties and my responsibility towards the people. But I cannot be above the party.”
The implications of the statements, when read together, are devastating. The Chief Minister has made a public declaration indicating that his party affiliation takes priority over his constitutional obligations whenever there is a conflict between party interest and the laws of the land.
The Congress leader Somen Mitra has rightly stated that “the statement is not that of a constitutional government”.
As a citizen one has the inalienable right to constitutional governance and rule of law. So what does a citizen of India, particularly one residing in West Bengal, do under the circumstances?
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