People's Democracy

THE Bengal Left Front has condemned the bandh called on January 10 by the SUCI and a splinter group of the Naxalites, and supported by a down-in-the-dumps Trinamul Congress.

In a statement issued on January 5 from the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan in Kolkata, the Left Front said the bandh call formed part of a series of attempts being made by the forces of anarchy and violence to disrupt the smooth flow of daily life in Bengal.

The bandh, the statement noted, was being sponsored by such elements as would not dare condemn the anti-people policies of the BJP-run union government, nor would think it fit to condemn either the jingoism or the financial corruption affecting the top echelons of the ruling combine.

The issues that were being cited to justify the bandh, the Left Front noted, were virtual non-issues as the Left Front government had already agreed to revise the hospital fee structure. The enhancement in the power charges had nothing to do with the state government for it was entirely in the domain of the national level Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The Bengal Left Front urged the people from all walks of life and the supporters of the Left Front constituents to foil the bandh in a comprehensive manner. It also asked the Left Front government to ensure that public life was not disturbed in any manner on January 10.