Ajoy K Das

Kolkata: When West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee shakes hands with Henry Kissinger on Saturday, it may not match the ping-pong diplomacy launched by the latter in his days as the US secretary of state in the Richard Nixon administration that led to the opening up of China. It will, however, put to test the current “anti-imperialism” campaign of the Left.

The former high priest of international diplomacy will also meet former CM and CPI(M) politburo member Jyoti Basu to gain an insight into the minds of the current communists in power. No firm agenda has been set for talks between Bhattacharjee, Basu and Kissinger. But Bhattacharjee is expected to put on his reformist cap to convince Kissinger that Bengal is a good destination for US businesses.

Kissinger may raise the Indo-US nuclear deal to gauge their reaction and then nudge the Left into finding common ground, as he is believed to have done in his interactions with BJP’s LK Advani in Delhi.

The CPI(M) is of course underlining that Kissinger’s visit to the state is part of the government’s programme and not the party’s. However, on the eve of Kissinger’s visit to Kolkata, Prakash Karat, general secretary, CPI(M) has raised anti-imperialism pitch announcing that the Left will oppose strategic Indo-US alliance, expanding its opposition to the N-deal.

Seen as an archetypal imperialist by the Left in West Bengal for decades, it is to be seen whether Kissinger can evoke even a mini-détente with Indian communists, as he is largely credited to have with the Chinese and Vietnamese.

Source : DNA