"The state government has issued orders ceasing the powers of the zilla parishads of North 24 Parganas and Nadia districts. Under the orders, the DMs will now operate all powers of the parishads and sanction schemes," senior party leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters here.
"This is absolute authoritarianism and autocratic manner in which the state government is functioning," he said.
A CPI-M delegation of zilla parishad representatives, led by Yechury and former MP Amitabha Nandi, took up the issue with Panchayati Raj Minister Kishore Chandra Deo and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh at separate meetings.
Nandi said though panchayat was a state subject and his party was opposed to any move by the Centre to interfere in state matters, "in this particular case, I believe it has become necessary to have an exception as a very special case".
He said all public works in Nadia and North 24 Parganas "have come to a standstill since the state government order became operative".
The delegation sought the intervention of the two Union ministers to take appropriate action to end the deadlock.