People's Democracy

SENIOR leaders of the Bengal unit of the CPI (M) addressed a meeting of 33 CPI (M) ministers in the new Left Front government and asked them to ensure that the administration reflected three principles of governance… discipline, compassion, and dynamism.

The leaders, including former Bengal chief minister, Jyoti Basu, state CPI (M) secretary Anil Biswas, Polit Bureau member Biman Basu (who presided over the meeting), and chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya told the ministers without mincing words that the people expected the new Left Front government to deliver, and that in this task, nothing must come between targets and performance.

In a note placed before the meeting, Anil Biswas said that the strengths and weaknesses of Left Front governance, as revealed through a review of the functioning of the earlier Left Front governments, must be looked critically into and appropriate conclusions drawn. The election manifesto of the Left Front has already provided, albeit in broad outlines, the programme of the Left Front in the years to come.

Several points came up during the discussions that followed.

• Ministers are to enter into consultations with the state leadership before initiating any fresh initiatives that are exceptions to the existing policy; tasks are to be completed in good time, and the ministers are expected to put in additional hours to accomplish this in a consistent manner; care and dedication must mark the style of functioning of the ministers; and work of the various ministries shall be monitored, periodical reports placed by the ministers duly analyzed, and follow up measures initiated.
• Each minister shall place a plan for their respective task-schedule for the next one and in planning the schedule, stress has to be attached to creation of employment, strengthening of the public distribution system, and augmenting the development of cottage and small-scale industries.
• The task-schedule would be looked into by the development & planning minister, and CPI (M) central committee member, Nirupam Sen, and bi-annual reviews organized.
• Each minister shall respect the role of the opposition in a democratic set up and must not hesitate to extend coöperation to them.