People's Democracy

AFTER its meeting held at Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan in Kolkata on June 6, the West Bengal Left Front has announced the outline of a programme of campaign-movement. The programme turns on two principal issues: the issue of falling prices of rice, and the increase in the price of petrol and diesel.

The Left Front leadership noted that the sharp downswing in the price of agricultural goods in general was an all-India phenomenon. It also arrived at an agreed conclusion that a marginal over-production of rice in Bengal this year (143 lakh compared to the average of 130 lakh metric tonnes), has forced the peasants to go in for distress sale. The import of rice from neighbouring states, and at rates less than those prevailing in Bengal, has compounded the kisan’s plight.

The Left Front has resolved to organise campaign-movements in the state, in conjunction with other political parties and the Leftist peasant organisations, to ask the BJP-led union government to immediately withdraw all restrictions on inter-state trading.

The Left Front also resolved to ask the NDA-run union government to re-impose the quantitative restrictions on imported goods; these restrictions were removed in recent times. Also, the dictum regarding compulsory utilisation of a minimum of 5 per cent of foreign imports must be done away with, especially in sectors where the country is in a position to create a supply structure equal to the current demand.

The Left Front also asked the union government to direct the Food Corporation of India to purchase rice at remunerative prices. The state government would then be in a position to purchase rice from the FCI at controlled prices. The union government must also supply foodgrains at controlled prices to the state government for all schemes run by the union and state governments.

No amount of subsidy for the agricultural sector must be withdrawn. The policy of importing fertilisers while closing down fertiliser production units (e g, the Haldia and Durgapur units) must be abandoned forthwith.

The increase made in the prices of petrol and diesel must be withdrawn. Such price hikes, the Bengal Left Front noted, directly affect the production and distribution of agricultural goods. The issue would form a major plank in the proposed statewide campaign-movement.

The Left Front exhorted upon the state government to draw the union government’s attention to the plight of the rice growers in Bengal. The state government, the Left Front believes, must also think in terms of providing assistance to the kisan directly. It must also organise efforts to find out other ways towards coming to the assistance of the peasants who face an acute crisis with the declining prices of agricultural produce, accompanied by the sharp hike in the price of fuel.

Speaking to the media, Left Front chairman Biman Basu said that the details of the structure of the campaign-movement on these emergent issues would be finalised within a short period.