People's
Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) No. 04
January 26, 2003
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) |
Vol.
XXVII No. 04 January 26, 2003 |
THE
Bengali
daily
Ganashakti
commemorated
its
37th
year
of
publication
on
January
3.
The
Bengali
organ
of
the
CPI(M)
was
first
published
on
the
same
date
in
the
year
1967.
Despite
a
great
many
obstacles
that
were
thrown
in
its
path,
and
these
included
repeated
banning
of
the
publication
and
heavy
censorship,
the
newspaper
could
continue
to
forge
ahead
as
the
official
organ
of
the
Bengal
unit
of
the
CPI(M).
Beginning
with
a
humble
subscription
figure,
the
newspaper
gradually
picked
up
popularity
through
its
unique
style
of
reportage
that
reflected
the
political-ideological
line
of
the
CPI(M).
Fearless
and
straight
talking,
Ganashakti
quickly
built
up
an
expanding
clientele
of
readership
outside
the
influence
of
the
Party
as
well.
Lately,
the
addition
of
colour
pages,
the
publication
of
regular
Saturday
and
Sunday
supplements,
a
page
for
the
youngsters,
plus
a
daily
round
up
of
international
events
have
seen
Ganashakti
vie
for
top
honours
of
circulation
with
the
corporate
media.
The
newspaper
has
a
Siliguri
edition
as
well.
Addressing
the
packed
gathering
at
the
Kolkata
University
Centenary
Hall
on
the
College
Street,
veteran
member
of
the
CPI(M)
Polit
Bureau,
Jyoti
Basu
said
that
a
Party
publication
like
the
Ganashakti
had
a
crucial
role
to
play
not
merely
in
propagating
the
ideology
of
the
CPI(M)
but
also
to
strengthen
both
the
Party
and
the
Left
Front.
In
the
ongoing
ideological
battle,
said
Basu,
the
Party
organ
was
very
important
in
carrying
forward
the
struggle
against
the
forces
of
reaction
and
revisionism.
Basu
was
sharply
critical
of
“those
sections
of
the
media
that
deliberately
seek
to
mislead
the
people
by
projecting
a
wrong
image
of
the
CPI(M)
and
the
Left
Front
in
the
minds
of
the
reading
public.”
Basu
said
that
in
order
to
counter
such
attempts,
the
circulation
of
Ganashakti
must
be
further
increased
and
the
contents
of
the
newspaper
propagated
to
the
people
via
group
meetings.
Regular
meetings
of
the
readers
of
the
Party
mouthpiece,
too,
should
be
held
as
a
continuous
process,
said
Basu.
The
CPI(M)
leader
said
that
in
the
wake
of
the
happenings
in
Gujarat,
the
responsibility
of
the
CPI(M)
and
the
Left
Front
had
increased
manifold,
and
in
countering
the
divisive
line
of
the
religious
fundamentalists,
the
Party
newspaper
would
have
a
central
role
to
emote.
In
his
address,
Bengal
chief
minister,
Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee
enumerated
the
achievements
of
the
Left
Front
government
–
past
and
present
–
and
said
that
as
the
organiser
and
propagator
of
the
Party,
Ganashakti
played
a
laudable
role
in
highlighting
the
achievements
of
the
LF
government.
Bhattacharjee
narrated
the
success
the
LF
government
could
chalk
out
despite
having
to
contend
with
a
BJP-led
union
government
that
had
the
wrong
priorities
and
was
intensely
anti-people.
Bhattacharjee
said
that
with
a
secure
agro-economic
base,
the
state
would
now
turn
to
agro-based
industries.
In
setting
up
agro-base
industries,
Bhattacharjee
said,
the
LF
government
would
never
allow
the
existing
land
ownership
pattern
to
change
and
the
entrepreneurs
shall
have
to
make
their
purchases
of
the
raw
material
like
fruits
and
vegetable,
from
the
small
farmers.
The
CPI(M)
leader
spoke
about
the
malaise
affecting
the
tea
industry
(through
cheap
imports)
and
the
jute
industry
(through
a
pro-artificial
fibre
lobby
outlook
of
the
BJP
government)
and
said
that
unless
diversification
was
not
adopted,
the
industrial
scene
in
Bengal
could
never
be
made
to
reach
bigger
heights.
Narrating
the
important
tasks
before
the
LF
government,
Bhattacharjee
said
that
productivity
was
to
be
further
enhanced
in
agriculture
and
industry,
the
public
distribution
system
was
to
be
strengthened
(notwithstanding
the
anti-people
policy
of
the
BJP
government
in
this
regard),
and
an
environment
of
peace,
amity,
and
communal
harmony
was
to
be
maintained.
The
politically
conscious
people
of
Bengal,
said
Bhattacharjee,
would
never
allow
this
state
to
go
the
way
of
Gujarat.
The
programme,
which
was
presided
over
by
Polit
Bureau
member
of
the
CPI(M),
Biman
Basu,
and
was
addressed
also
by
Narayan
Dutta,
the
editor
of
Ganashakti,
saw
the
Kolkata
district
unit
of
the
CPI(M)
win
top
honours
for
the
largest
sale
of
Ganashakti
over
the
past
one
year.
A
cultural
programme
followed
the
speeches
by
the
leaders.
