Buddhadeb dropped from CPM state committee

Kolkata: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was dropped from the CPI-M state committee, while Gautam Deb continues despite ill health.

There are 18 new members in the 80-member state committee. Party general secretary Prakash Karat and former general secretary Sitaram Yechury were present at the two-day state committee meeting, which concluded on Thursday evening.

Old guards Shyamal Chakraborty, Madan Ghosh, Dipak Sarkar and Dipak Das Gupta were dropped from the party as well, as they are approaching 75 years of age.

The state government has decided to follow the party's decision taken at the Plenum, which was held at Kolkata in January 2016, that the upper age limit of a state committee member should be 75 years.

All the four leaders are approaching 75. Only Biman Bose, who is 77-years-old now, has been spared. The Bengal unit of the party is trying to revamp it, by inducting fresh blood.

Bhattacharya had earlier written to the party, requesting not to include him in the party's state committee, because of ill health.

He had not attended the Politburo or Central Committee meetings held in Delhi in the past two and half years. He was also absent from the Central Committee meeting of the party held in Kolkata recently.

He is suffering from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD) and eye-related problems. He fell ill recently at the party office on Alimuddin Street, when he vomited blood.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had visited his Palm Avenue residence and requested him to go for a thorough check-up at SSKM, which he refused.

However, Gautam Deb, who is also not well and was dropped from the post of president of the party's North 24-Parganas unit, continues to remain in the state committee because of strong support from party state secretary Suryakanta Mishra.