Students avoid Left’s Iraq war, barred from exams

Even as the Left Front’s obsession with the US war manifests itself in delay in finalising seat-sharing among partners for the forthcom...

Even as the Left Front’s obsession with the US war manifests itself in delay in finalising seat-sharing among partners for the forthcoming panchayat polls, authorities of a primary school here didn’t allow some girl students to sit for their examinations for not attending a Left Front-sponsored anti-war rally.

This sparked protests from guardians who picketed the Giribala Sarkar Girls’ School today demanding an explanation from the authorities for having kept the students standing on their benches as punishment yesterday.

Admitting the charge, school committee chairperson Sumitra Chowdhury said an urgent meeting of the committee had been called to discuss the issue. On Saturday, the school authorities had issued a notice asking students to join the rally. The guardians claimed that no such notice was issued for students of the primary section.

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Meanwhile, on the delay over seats for panchayat polls, LF chairman Biman Bose said: ‘‘With Left Front committees in most of the 19 districts busy in mobilisation of people for anti-war protests, including yesterday’s massive one, the task of finalising candidates on the basis of consensus could not be completed as scheduled on March 28 and has been put off by another week.’’

Briefing media on the outcome of the LF meeting on panchayat polls during the day, Bose, a CPI(M) politburo member, said seat-sharing had been finalised in the two districts of Burdwan and Bankura and was progressing well in six other districts including Hooghly, North 24 Paraganas and Howrah.

Bose said it was decided that by April 3, bilateral talks between partners on seat-sharing would have to be completed. On April 4, the LF committee would meet here to give final shape to seat-sharing. The LF poll manifesto would be released on April 6.