People's Democracy

 WEST BENGAL

Sit-in Demonstration to Defend Democracy

From Our Special

Correspondent in Kolkata

THOUSANDS of people joined in the sit-in protest to condemn the attack on democratic rights of the people in the state for over past two and a half year. At the call of the Left Front, the protest held at the Rani Rasmani Road near Esplanade, Kolkata started at 1 PM and continued till 5 PM. Biman Basu, Surjya Kanta Mishra and other Left Front leaders were present at the sit-in protest.

The Left Front had organised a public meeting at the same place to propagate its agenda of protest where Biman Basu, the chairman of the Left Front committee, while presiding over the public meeting had condemned the state sponsored attack on democratic rights.

The sit-in and the public meeting condemned the state government’s policy of curbing democratic space in all possible ways. The protest movement took note of the anarchy spread across the educational sector by the ruling party and its agents from the day the TMC government come into being. The growing number and magnitude of attacks on women of this state has already put the question of social security of women at high alert. The state government is not addressing these alarming issues. On the contrary, their agents are blaming women for the crimes committed on them. The leaders and activists present at this protest movement condemned the killing of the student leader Sudipto Gupto in police custody and rejected the state government’s fabricated trials to misinterpret the murder as an accident. The distress tale of democracy in this state has more chapters as the people of this state are compelled to witness a spine-chilling reign of terror that has been unleashed by the ruling party and accordingly supported and supplemented by the state administration. Numerous false cases against Left activists and leaders are being foisted every now and then. So far, 138 of Left leaders, activists got murdered and no one was arrested or faced police probe. The Saradha scam has looted many people of their hard-earned savings yet the state government has not filed a single case against the convicts of this scam. Names of ruling party leaders and even the CM have always been attached with the fraud ‘cheat-fund’ company Saradha, even when a ruling party member of the parliament is arrested by the police administration the names of other leaders and even the CM have come up once again. It is visibly impossible for any state controlled institution to conduct a neutral probe into this case, hence the demand of CBI probe on the Saradha scam case echoed at this protest again and again.

The leader of the opposition of West Bengal assembly, Surjya Kanta Mishra and other Left Front leaders were present at the sit-in protest and they addressed the public meeting and condemned the anti-democratic actions being observed in this state.

STATEWIDE PROTEST AGAINST POLICE

ATROCITIES ON EMINENT PERSONS

THE TMC government is haunted by the ghost of Saradha Chit Fund scam. After the exposure by arrested TMC MP Kunal Ghosh in a recorded video about the beneficiaries of Saradha fund, the state government is trying every trick to thwart further embarrassment. In the process, the jailed MP has been denied the opportunity of recording his statement in camera to a court of law. On the other hand, police tried to stop any protest by force. 

In a bizarre incident, Mamata Banerjee’s police manhandled the delegation of eminent people who assembled to submit a memorandum to the Bidhannagar commissionerate on  November 28, demanding interrogation of  the TMC leaders mentioned in the confessional statement of TMC MP Kunal Ghosh.  CPI(M) South 24 Parganas district secretary Sujan Chakraborty, octogenarian educationist Sunanda Sanyal, Congress MLA Sukha Bilas Varama, PDS leader Samir Patitunda, and former Naxalite leader Asim Chatterjee were among the large number of people who came to the spot demanding a CBI probe into the Saradha fiasco. The gathering was convened by the Chit Fund Sufferers’ Unity Forum.

The police tried to stop them from entering the commissionarate premises and later used force to chase them away. Sunanda Sanyal, who supported Mamata Banerjee before the poll, fell on the ground before he was taken away. Sujan Chakraborty was also assaulted and picked up. The other eminent persons were also treated roughly. Police picked up 24 persons including the names mentioned above and charged them for unlawful assembly and destruction of government property. They were detained in the police station. However with strong protests outside, all of them were released on bail.

Left Front chairman Biman Basu condemned the manhandling of the delegation. He said it is unthinkable that police could beat-up such honorable people who went to submit a memorandum demanding a CBI probe into the Saradha chit fund scam. He further said that democratic rights and values are under attack in the TMC regime.

The next day, statewide protest rallies condemned the police action. In Kolkata, demonstrations took place in front of police stations.

On November 30, Left student and youth organisations held a huge rally in Bidhannagar in protest. On December 1, four Left women’s organisations demonstrated in front of Bidhannagar Police headquarters. In the process, women leaders were again manhandled.

CPI(M) PANCHAYAT SAMITI

MEMBER BRUTALLY MURDERED

NAZEER Ahmed (55), member of Chopra zonal committee of the CPI(M) and elected member of Chopra panchayat samiti in North Dinajpur district was brutally murdered by the TMC goons on November 27. He was shot at when he was on his way to his daily work in the morning. He was talking with a lady when the hooligans came on a motorbike and opened fire from behind. The lady tried to chase the goons but they pushed her and repeatedly fired at Nazeer Ahmed to ensure his death on the spot.

The family members and party comrades of Nazeer Ahmed have lodged complaint against seven TMC workers including Shaheen Akhtar who has joined TMC from Congress and was defeated by Nazeer Ahmed in Chopra Panchayat Samiti election. Previously Akhtar was vice chairman of Congress led Chopra panchayat. He also was involved in abduction of another CPI(M) leader just he joined TMC in September 2013.

The local people went out to register protest against this brutal murder. The protesters blocked roads including National Highway. The people rescued number of bombs from the residence of Shaheen Akhtar but Mamata Banerjee’s police didn’t find it necessary to search his home. Total bandh was observed in Chopra on November 28 protesting the murder of the popular leader.

The autocratic trend of the TMC that is capturing everything at any expense is creating unprecedented crisis in democracy. Even after capturing most of the panchayats by sheer muscle power TMC seems to be unhappy. They are resorting to murder tactics to make the operation opposition-free. Nazeer Ahmed is another inclusion in the list of murdered opposition members elected in the last panchayat elections in West Bengal.