It would be a disaster with Modi at helm: Buddhadeb

Terming the rise of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi at the helm would be a disaster for communal harmony, Communist Party of India (Marxist) politburo member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee alleged that Trinamool Congress was also trying to hitch an alliance once again with the BJP.

"The BJP is trying to bring forward Narendra Modi. It would be a disaster for communal harmony. It would be a disaster if the alternative of Congress' neo liberal policies are BJP's neo liberal policies and Narendra Modi," he said.

Addressing a programme on the occasion of Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu's birth centenary, Bhattacharjee also alleged that the ruling Trinamool Congress regime in West Bengal has always kept its doors open for the BJP.

"We have to be very careful as the ruling Trinamool Congress is trying to hitch a new relationship with the BJP. They (Trinamool) have kept their doors open for BJP. It is a new kind of danger," said the former chief minister.

"In 1984 anti-Sikh riots rocked the nation, post-Babri Masjid demolition riots rocked the nation. But in Bengal we were successful in preserving communal harmony," he said.

He also lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool regime for attacking the SEC.

"We had also held panchayat elections. But we have never seen such situations where the SEC has been verbally attacked by the state government. This is shameful," he said.

Bhattachrjee's comments comes in the backdrop of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other ministers attacking SEC.

He also criticised the way the Trinamool regime had stopped giving government advertisements in newspapers, that have been critical of government's performance.

"When Jyoti Basu was chief minister, I was there with him (in charge of Information and cultural department). He had never asked me which paper is getting what kind of advertisements. During our regime we have never stopped giving advertisements to papers who were critical about us," said Bhattacharjee.