Bengal CPI-M leader accused of sexual harassment suspended again
Kolkata (The Uttam HIndu): Just six days after it revoked the suspension of veteran leader and former party legislator Tanmoy Bhattacharya, accused of sexual harassment of a woman journalist, the CPI-M's West Bengal state Committee suspended him again and this time for six months. As per the party protocol, the decision of the state Committee will be conveyed to the party’s Central Committee, which will take the final decision on the matter at the meeting in Kolkata next month.
On December 14, the announcement of the revoking of Bhattacharya’s suspension was made through a WhatsApp message circulated by the CPI-M’s North 24 Parganas district Secretary, adding that henceforth, Bhattacharya will be able to participate in the organisational work of the party as he had been doing. However, just six days after that, the decision surfaced that Bhattacharya had been suspended again. Party insiders said that the earlier decision to revoke the suspension of Bhattacharya was following the conclusion of the probe by the party’s internal complaints committee into the matter. However, sources added that after thoroughly reviewing the report by the said committee, especially some observations and suggestions made there, the party's state Committee has decided to suspend him again. Now the only hope for Bhattacharya is in the case that the party’s Central Committee decides against the decision of the state committee on this count. However, party insiders noted that generally, the Central Committee does not go against any decision of the state Committee, especially if the complaints are related to sexual harassment. In October, a woman reporter attached to an independent YouTube channel on Facebook accused Bhattacharya of "sexually inappropriate" behaviour with her while she went to his residence to interview him in October this year, the state Committee of the CPI-M suspended him the same day and also initiated an internal probe against him by the party’s internal complaints committee.Later, based on the FIR filed by the woman reporter at Baranagar Police Station, Bhattacharya was summoned by police several times for questioning. However, no coercive action was initiated against him. The Calcutta High Court on December 17 granted him anticipatory bail, but imposed certain conditions.
Bhattacharya had been vehemently denying the accusation of sexual harassment. He has also claimed that the charges of sexual harassment against him were a "well-planned plot" to malign his image. "I am a communist and will continue to remain so till my last breath. If I am proven innocent, I will continue as a CPI-M activist. If I am held guilty by my party and expelled, I will remain a communist till my last day. Even if I cannot continue as a CPI-M activist, I will continue as a communist," Bhattacharya had said earlier.
