That Mr Manmohan Singh holds the chief minister of West Bengal, Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, in very high regard has been known for some time. But from high regard to making Mr Bhattacharjee the fugleman for all chief ministers is indeed a great leap forward. For once Mr Singh has outmanoeuvred the Communist Party of India (Marxist) whose central leadership functions as Mr Singh?s loyal opposition. The irony embedded in the words, ?loyal opposition?, is evident. The CPI(M), together with its left allies, is a part of the United Progressive Alliance, but it has done more than those who sit in the opposition benches in the Lok Sabha to bring reform and governance to a standstill. The left has shamelessly used its numbers in the Lok Sabha to hold Mr Singh?s government to ransom and to stifle every move of the government to carry forward economic reforms. The situation has reached such a pass that this paper was forced to ask the question: who is actually ruling India? As if in answer to this question, Mr Singh has taken the battle right into the ranks of the leadership of the CPI(M).

Mr Singh has held up the reformist zeal of the West Bengal chief minister as a model for other states. The message is intended more for the CPI(M)?s politburo than for the chief ministers of, say, Maharashtra, Karnataka and other economically advanced states. The prime minister by praising Mr Bhattacharjee has, in fact, drawn attention to the inexplicable contradiction in the CPI(M)?s position. In West Bengal, under Mr Bhattacharjee?s exemplary leadership, the CPI(M) has undergone a 180-degree turn on the issue of industrialization. Mr Bhattacharjee?s principal aim has been to attract investment to West Bengal. He has wooed private capital, Indian and foreign. He has openly admitted that the left made mistakes in the past by alienating capital and capitalists. He has campaigned against irresponsible trade unionism and the culture of bandhs, which were promoted by the CPI(M) in West Bengal. He has emphasized that economic reform is the only mode of survival in a world that has been transformed by globalization. These efforts of Mr Bhattacharjee stand in sharp contrast to some of the pronouncements made by the party leadership in New Delhi. The CPI(M) in New Delhi has consistently positioned itself against economic reforms: it has opposed disinvestment, foreign direct investments in most areas and reforms in the labour market. If Mr Bhattacharjee stands for the future, his party?s politburo stands for the past.

Mr Singh has now decided to hoist the left in Delhi with Mr Bhattacharjee?s petard. It is already evident that the CPI(M) leadership has no adequate response to Mr Singh?s comment. They cannot disown their most successful chief minister, nor can they own up to economic reforms. Dinosaurs have to live with their own contradictions till they evolve or become extinct.