NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 9: With US President George W Bush expected here next month, a new row is building between the Left and the US envoy. Ambassador David Mulford has written a protest letter to West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, objecting to his description of Bush as a leader of the “most organised pack of killers”.
Bhattacharjee, who made the remark a month ago at an election rally in Kolkata’s Brigade Parade grounds, wrote a strong letter to the Prime Minister, saying just as no state government could write directly to an envoy, neither could an envoy write directly to a state government. He said there was the issue of protocol involved.
In his letter to the CM, Mulford pointed out that West Bengal was being seen as a key destination for foreign investment and such remarks would be detrimental, especially in inviting US investors. Bhattacharjee himself has been warding off criticism from within the Left for his pro-reform policies.
Mulford’s carefully worded letter highlighted the need to develop the positives emerging from the Indo-US relationship.
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