CPI-M suspends former party MP

Kolkata, April 30 (IANS) Former Lok Sabha member Anil Basu, who acquired infamy for his lewd comments against Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee ahead of the West Bengal assembly polls last year, has been suspended from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).

The decision to place Basu, a Hooghly district strongman, under three-month suspension for indulging corruption and nepotism, was taken by the party state committee.

The decision was based on a report by a party commission in 2010.

"But as he was a state committee member then, the state committee can only recommend action against him. The final ratification has to come from the central committee," said a CPI-M source.

Basu is the first senior leader to be suspended from the party following its drubbing in the 2011 assembly polls.

He was earlier dropped from the state committee as a part of the purification process which the CPI-M has started to weed out undesirable elements alleged to be involved in unethical practices.

In the run up to the assembly elections, Basu had called Banerjee names which led to widespread condemnation and is believed to have cost the CPI-M sizeable number of votes.