“I’ve finally decided that I’ll shortly open my mouth against this (read bundh),” the chief minister told a questioner during an interactive session with Assocham. Coming as it does from a Marxist chief minister whose party had once a history of sorts of calling general strikes at the drop of a hat, the industrialists were initially rooted to their spot.

“Unfortunately, I am a member of a political party where I have little freedom to express my opinion; but I’d do it now,” the chief minister said much to the surprise of the business leaders.

And, as expected, his remarks have already triggered a commotion in a section of the CPM with MP Hannan Molla shooting him down by stating that bundh is the fundamental right of workers and the last weapon to get their demands fulfilled.  “Bundhs don’t impact the pace of progress,” Molla said as the party is busy fine-tuning a programme of a massive march (Mahamichil) of three lakh party supporters across the busy city thoroughfares on September 1 next to protest the US imperialism and nuclear deal.