The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo has "punished" West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee by publicly censuring him for his opinion against strikes, said a party leader.
"The politburo has publicly censored Bhattacharjee Thursday for his comments against
strikes. As per our party constitution, publicly censoring someone is a punishment and the party has given the punishment to him," Chakraborty, a politburo member, told reporters.
"Bhattacharjee has accepted the punishment," he added.
Bhattacharjee, himself a party politburo member, had invited severe criticism from his colleagues in the CPI-M and its Left allies for his remarks against shutdowns at a business gathering in Kolkata Tuesday.
"Personally, I don't support strikes. Bandhs (shutdowns) do not help the country," he said, adding that he found siege and shutdowns "immoral".
"Unfortunately, I belong to a political party. They call strikes and I keep mum," he said.
Giving the counter view, Chakraborty said strikes were not a luxury but the last weapon of struggle in the hands of the working class.
"Strikes are not a luxury but the last weapon of the working class to protest against injustices meted out to them. We cannot use this weapon off and on. In fact, it's the state's opposition parties that call strikes every now and then. It's their conspiracy to poison people's minds about strikes," he said.