People's Democracy

THE continuance of the Left Front government in West Bengal for the last 25 years is a glorious chapter in the international communist movement and reflects the creative application of Marxism to Indian conditions, felt the speakers at a meeting in New Delhi on June 29 to commemorate the completion of 25 years of struggle, sacrifice and service to the people. They underlined that this LF government will always be a powerful instrument in the hands of the people in the fight against communalism and authoritarianism.

The meeting held in Mavlankar Hall was presided over by CPI(M) general secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and addressed by Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat and West Bengal minister for minorities welfare and youth affairs Md. Salim. Hundreds of CPI(M) members, sympathisers, intellectuals, academics attended this meeting. Polit Bureau member E. Balanandan and central committee members Suneet Chopra, Joginder Sharma and W R Varadarajan were present on the dias along with leaders of Delhi state committee. P M S Grewal, state secretary of Delhi unit welcomed the gathering.

Surjeet, in his address stated that there is lot to learn from the West Bengal experience by our weaker units. The basic lesson being that without conducting intense struggles, our popular base will not increase. It was because of such popular base that Bengal LF governement could overcome so many conspiracies, hurdles put in its path by the bourgeoisie forces in the centre, said Surjeet. He lauded the state government for coming down heavily against any attempts to create communal disturbances in the state.

Prakash Karat pointed out that the Left Front in West Bengal was not just an electoral front but a front which evolved out of intense struggles on people’s issues, particularly of the downtrodden sections. The Party while providing leadership to these struggles made many sacrifices. More than 3000 cadre lost their lives in the class struggle being carried out for the last 25 years. The reason for the continuance of LF government for such a long period is because of its ideology, sincere effort to present alternative path within the constraints of a bourgeoisie structure and a principled governance, said Prakash Karat.

He debunked the media’s efforts to portray this record in governance as an outcome of just a few individual leaders work. The successes of the Left Front government were largely because of the organisation and the immense sacrifices made by the communists in the state.

With the Vajpayee government bent on replicating Gujarat in entire country, the West Bengal government will be a key instrument in the hands of the people in the fight against such efforts, felt Prakash Karat.

Md. Salim in his speech explained how the Left Front government could continue, overcoming all obstacles in its path, for such a long time. He said this government came into existence not on any ‘wave’ but out of the sacrifices of thousands of communists and a concrete programme for providing relief to the people. Referring to how the aya ram- gaya ram syndrome is plaguing the entire country ,he said that West Bengal stands as a shining example on how coalition politics should be run. Under the Left Front governance, the four C’s- communalism, casteism, corruption and criminalisation- have been banished from the state. Democracy was strengthened by devolving powers to the grass root level. The effect of land reforms has been such that today a Rs 1000 crore market, mainly small scale and cottage goods, exists in the rural areas of West Bengal, said Salim. Within the limits, the government was able to provide relief to the people, which is reflected in any of the social indices pertaining to SC/ST/minorities/women.

He said Bengal has shown how religion can be kept away from politics and gave the credit to the consciousness of the people for thwarting all attempts of the communalists to gain a foothold in the state. Detailing the willful blocking of LF government’s attempts to serve the people by the central governments, Salim said that if at all there was cooperation from the centre the LF could have achieved much more for the people. He thanked the democratic sections of the entire country for standing behind the Bengal LF government in all its struggles.