The continued mutual praise between West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union external affairs minister Pranab Mukherjee continued to enthuse Bengali newspapers. And Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's irritation over it added spice to news items. Bengali dailies sensitive to affairs in neighbouring Bangladesh also gave prominent coverage to the BDR attacks in Dhaka.

The bonhomie between the Congress and the Left began at a function in Kolkata last Sunday when Mukherjee, in the presence of Bhattacharjee, criticised Mamata's movement against industrialisation in the state.

Anandabazar Patrika (ABP), made the event the lead news of the day. "Pranab once again critical of opposition on issue of development," said the headline.

Bartaman, known for its strong anti-Left stand, had two lead news items that day. One headline said, "Mamata asks Pranab to stop hobnobbing with CPI(M)", while the other said: "Pranab, Buddha criticise Mamata in chorus".

Bartaman also had a lead editorial criticising Mukherjee for foiling all attempts at forging a pre-poll anti-Left Congress-Trinamool alliance.

The pro-left Aajkal, on the other hand, highlighted both Mukherjee's criticism of Mamata and praise for Buddha.

The CPI(M)'s party mouthpiece, Ganashakti, carefully avoided the mutual praise issue. It came out with an analytical piece where it criticised Mamata for unnecessarily nailing Mukherjee.

If politics divided Bengali dailies, the BDR attack in Dhaka united them. All four above mentioned dailies, irrespective of their political tilt, reported the Dhaka massacre with concern.

For ABP, two stories on the BDR massacre covered over half of the front page on Thursday. The main story, headlined: "Fresh tussle at night even after prime minister's pardon," carried details of the tension that grabbed Dhaka though the day.

Another report, headlined: "Concerned Pranab assures cooperation to Hasina" analysed how the Dhaka massacre should be a reason for India to feel tense.

Ganashakti's headline on Bangladesh, "Copter monitoring from the sky as fear grips the spring's air", was poetic. Aajkal came out with a special on the likely involvement of Bangladeshi reactionary groups in the massacre. 

Sumanta Ray Chaudhuri/ DNA-Daily News & Analysis Source: 3D Syndication