People's Democracy

Massive Left Front Rally In Maharashtra

 Ashok Dhawale

JUNE 1, 2003 witnessed a massive rally of tens of thousands at Alibag in the Raigad district of Maharashtra. The rally marked the culmination of a two-day state-level study camp of the Left Front, which comprises the three main Left parties in the state, viz. the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), the CPI(M) and the CPI. Over 700 leading state and district cadres of all three Left parties attended the two-day state camp, which was being held for the first time. The highlight of the Left Front camp and rally was that both were addressed by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and chief minister of the Left Front government of West Bengal. The rally was well-covered by the print and electronic media in the state.

LEFT FRONT STATE CAMP

The Left Front camp began on the morning of May 31 with the simultaneous hoisting of the three red flags of the three Left parties by the three Party secretaries N D Patil (PWP), Prabhakar Sanzgiri (CPI-M) and Manohar Deshkar (CPI). A three-member presidium comprising Meenakshi Patil (PWP), Krishna Khopkar (CPI-M) and Madhavrao Gaikwad (CPI) was elected. The inaugural address was delivered by senior PWP leader Ganpatrao Deshmukh who, while dealing with the political and economic situation in the state, stressed the importance of the question of water and irrigation and emphasised the need for Left unity forged through struggle.

The first day of the camp was devoted to lectures on three vital subjects around which it was felt that all Left Front activists should have a common understanding.  These were: (1) ‘Globalisation and its Impact’ by PWP general secretary N D Patil; (2) ‘Marxism: Its Nature and Context’ by CPI(M) state secretary and central committee member Prabhakar Sanzgiri; (3) ‘Communalism and Casteism’ by CPI national council member and former state secretary Govind Pansare. All the three lectures were enlightening and were followed by a question and answer session.

On the second day of the camp, the Draft Policy Statement of the Left Front, which had been circulated in printed form to all the delegates, was placed by CPI(M) central committee member Ashok Dhawale, and it was seconded by PWP secretariat member Vithalrao Hande and by CPI state secretary Manohar Deshkar.

In the discussion on the same, the following comrades took part: PWP leaders S M Patil, Adv Chevale, Ajit Suryawanshi; CPI(M) state secretariat members Kumar Shiralkar, Jiva Pandu Gavit MLA, K L Bajaj; and CPI leaders Namdev Gavade, Tukaram Bhasme, Manohar Taksal. The Left Front Policy Statement was unanimously adopted, with the provision that some of the amendments moved by delegates would be incorporated.

The 27-page Draft Policy Statement of the Left Front, which was finalised by the state leadership of the three Left parties after three rounds of detailed discussions, comprises the following seven sections: (1) Challenges at the international level; (2) Challenges at the national level; (3) Challenges at the state level; (4) All-round deterioration in Maharashtra; (5) The standpoint of the Left Front; (6) The programme of the Left Front; (7) Concluding appeal.  

EXPERIENCE OF INTENSE STRUGGLES

The concluding speech at the camp and the main speech at the rally that followed were delivered by Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, and these speeches were undoubtedly the highlight of the entire event.

In the concluding speech of the study camp, he succintly dealt with the experience of the intense struggle launched by the Left Front and the CPI(M) in West Bengal for more than five decades. Starting with the glorious role of the Left in the freedom struggle, he outlined the sacrifices of the revolutionaries in the ‘Anushilan’ and ‘Yugantar’ groups, many of whom spent several excruciating years in British jails in the Andamans and were there converted to Marxism and the Communist Party.

He then briefly recounted the historic Tebhaga peasant movement of the forties, the militant working class struggles, the massive food movements of the fifties, the experience of the United Front governments and the tremendous land struggles of the sixties, the bitter struggle against the semi-fascist terror launched by the Congress against the CPI(M) and the Left in West Bengal in the seventies, which was a prelude to the nationwide Emergency, and, finally, the glorious victory of the Left Front in the assembly elections of 1977.

This victory was followed by the constant class struggle for implementing Left Front policies in favour of the people, which has led to a record six victories in a row for the last 26 years. This has been achieved, he stressed, in the teeth of opposition by both Congress and BJP-led central governments; in the bitter struggle against vested interests, communal elements and anti-socials in West Bengal represented by these political parties; and inspite of the incessantly malicious slander campaign by the bourgeois media. Thousands of selfless and dedicated cadres of the Left, he said, had made the supreme sacrifice of their lives to keep the Red Flag flying high in West Bengal.

The lessons that we have drawn from this experience, said Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, were that principled Left unity, constant struggle on the burning issues of the people and a political battle to raise the peoples’ consciousness were the only keys to success. Congratulating the Left Front in Maharashtra on the success of this camp, he expressed the confidence that Left and secular unity would be forged in Maharashtra in the years ahead to fight the grim political challenges facing the country and our people.

MASSIVE LEFT RALLY

The conclusion of the camp on this inspiring note was followed by a massive procession in which thousands of people participated. Hundreds of Red Volunteers led the procession, with Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and other leaders being cheered and welcomed by thousands of people en route. Alibag town had been festively decorated with red banners and bunting, red flags and festoons, and attractive welcome arches were put up all over the town. The PWP had spared no efforts to make the arrangements for the camp and the mass rally a resounding success. 

The huge public meeting was presided over by N D Patil and it was addressed by Left Front leaders Jayant Patil MLC, Meenakshi Patil MLA, Prabhakar Sanzgiri and Govind Pansare. It was greeted by JD(S) state president Shripati Shinde, RPI leader T M Kamble, Kunabi Sena leader Vishwanath Patil and a message of greetings was sent by BRP leader Prakash Ambedkar.

In his speech at the rally, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya launched a scathing attack on the American imperialist war on Iraq, and on the disastrous economic policies and communal conspiracies of the BJP-led regime at the centre. He then gave a lucid account of the struggles and achievements of the Left Front government of West Bengal over the last 26 years, culminating in the recent victory of the Left Front in the Panchayat elections despite all odds. He specially emphasised the Left Front regime’s record of land reforms, panchayati raj system, and the steady headway made in agriculture, education and now even in industry.

Expressing admiration of the people of West Bengal for the anti-imperialist, secular and progressive historical traditions of the people of Maharashtra, he said he was confident that the Left Front in Maharashtra would unitedly carry forward these traditions and, along with other secular forces, would forge an effective and credible left and secular political alternative through struggle and sacrifice.

LF FORMED TO FIGHT SS-BJP COMMUNAL COMBINE

A brief recapitulation of the formation and genesis of the Left Front in Maharashtra would be of interest. It was in August 1995, a few months after the Shiv Sena-BJP came to power in Maharashtra, that the three Left parties first came together and formed a Left Front to oppose the communal conspiracies and socio-economic policies of the SS-BJP regime. It may be recalled that the SS-BJP combine, which was even then in a minority in the state assembly, could last its term of four and a half years only because of the continued support of nearly 40 Congress rebel MLAs of all factions, some of whom were won over by giving them Ministerships, and the rest were wooed with other assorted blandishments.

It was in such a situation that the Left Front organised the first massive state-level rally of around one lakh people against the SS-BJP regime in Mumbai on January 9, 1996. Along with the state leaders of the Left parties, this rally was addressed by CPI(M) Politbureau member Sitaram Yechury and CPI General Secretary A B Bardhan. For the next three years, the Left Front in Maharashtra, supported at times by other secular opposition parties, led several struggles at the district and tehsil levels on the burning issues of the people that were being aggravated by the policies of the SS-BJP regime.

The culmination of these struggles was another huge state-level rally of the Left Front in Mumbai on November 17, 1998, directed against the SS-BJP regime. However, for the simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and the Vidhan Sabha that were held in September 1999, due to the split in the Congress, the formation of the NCP and consequent differences in political perceptions with regard to the NCP, the Left Front could not stay united.   

Inspite of the vertical split in the Congress, the peoples’ discontent with the SS-BJP regime in the state was so intense and widespread that it was thrown out of power in the 1999 elections. The INC-NCP, who had fought the elections against each other, did not have a majority in the new state assembly, and the SS-BJP combine was again trying to stage a comeback through dubious methods.

It was at this point that the left and secular parties decided to support the INC-NCP alliance, purely to keep the communal forces out of power. The PWP, JD(S), SP and the Republican Party factions joined the Democratic Front (DF) ministry, while the CPI(M) supported the government from outside. A 51-point common minimum programme of the Democratic Front regime was agreed upon.

BETRAYAL BY THE INC-NCP ALLIANCE

But within months of assuming office, the INC-NCP began to show their true class colours. Flagrantly violating the common minimum programme and bypassing the DF coordination committee, the state government began the implementation of LPG policies in several spheres. It started hedging even on the question of cancelling the Enron deal, which was driving the state bankrupt and had led to several massive power tariff hikes imposed on the people by both the SS-BJP and INC-NCP regimes. The INC-NCP state government also began to float proposals for anti-worker amendments to labour laws.

It took no steps to protect the peasantry from the BJP-led central government’s decision of lifting quantitative restrictions on imports. On the contrary, bowing to World Bank dictates, it began taking steps for dismantling both the Monopoly Cotton Procurement Scheme (MCPS) and the Employment Guarantee Scheme (EGS), both of which had been started three decades ago after the great drought of 1972-73, under pressure of the big struggles of the peasantry and agricultural workers led by the Left parties.

It was to oppose all these measures that the Left and secular parties came together in November 2000 to form the ‘Anti-Globalisation Action Committee’ which led a concerted statewide struggle against Enron and other issues. This included a massive rally of nearly one lakh people in Mumbai on April 7, 2001, followed by a complete Maharashtra Bandh on April 25. Under this pressure, the state government was forced to cancel the Enron deal. Later, under pressure of withdrawal of support by the Left, it was also forced to order a judicial inquiry into the circumstances in which both the Enron deals were signed, first by the Congress government and then by the SS-BJP regime. It also renounced its proposals for amendments to labour laws.

To take up the issues pertaining to the peasantry and agricultural workers, the peasant and agricultural worker organisations led by the three Left parties came together in August 2001 to form the ‘Maharashtra Rajya Shetkari-Shetmajur Sangharsh Samiti’, which led statewide movements of thousands of peasants and agricultural workers on several burning rural issues. As a result of the massive Left peasant rally at Nagpur on December 12, 2002, the state government had to give up its plans for the dismantling of the Monopoly Cotton Procurement Scheme and also for the privatisation and trifurcation of the Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB).  

But the most opportunist betrayal of the INC-NCP-led regime came on the question of the struggle against communalism itself. After the statewide Zilla Parishad , Panchayat Samiti and Municipal Council elections that were held in February 2002, both the INC and the NCP, in order to undercut each other, struck highly unprincipled alliances with the SS and BJP to gain control of several Zilla Parishads, Panchayat Samitis and Municipal Councils.

The worst case occurred in Raigad district, where all four major bourgeois parties ganged up against the PWP to wrest control of the Zilla Parishad. It was as a reaction to this that the three PWP Ministers quit the DF ministry in June 2002 and the PWP also quit the DF coordination committee. The CPI(M) had quit the DF co-ordination committee and had decided on issue-based support six months earlier, at its state conference in December 2001.

TOWARDS A LEFT AND SECULAR ALTERNATIVE

It was after the successful struggle against Enron, in September 2001 itself, that the CPI(M) had proposed that the Anti-Globalisation Action Committee of left and secular parties be transformed into a political front and had even submitted a note to that effect. But it was after the PWP quit the DF ministry that things began to gradually move. It was at the time of the Nagpur peasant rally in December 2002 that it was decided to once again resurrect the Left Front which had been dormant since 1999 on the one hand, and to build the unity of left and secular forces in Maharashtra around the nucleus of the Left Front on the other.

A number of meetings of the Left parties were held from January 2003 onwards, a Draft Policy Statement of the Left Front was finalised after discussion, and the Alibag state camp of the Left Front was planned. The PWP, which has a strong traditional base in Raigad district, with one sitting MP and three sitting MLAs, took the responsibility of organising the camp and the rally at Alibag, which is the district centre. 

After the big success of the state camp and the mass rally, the Left Front is meeting on June 23 to chalk out its future programme of struggle. The next day, June 24, the Left Front has convened a meeting of all democratic and secular parties in the state that are opposed to both the SS-BJP and the INC-NCP, to seriously discuss the formation of a Left and secular political alternative in Maharashtra in the days ahead.