Look To The Interests Of Toiling Masses

LF Victory Rally Tells The New Congress-Led Government

 B Prasant

ADDRESSING a victory rally at the Shahid Minar maidan in Kolkata on May 23, Bengal chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, declared that the newly-sworn in Congress-led alliance government must look to the interests of the toiling people of the country and veer completely away from the dysfunctional and harmful policies of the previous government.

Buddhadeb made it emphatically clear when he said that in the present political circumstances, the Congress-led government could not ignore in any manner the 60-strong Left presence in the Lok Sabha.  “If,” said Buddhadeb, “we say ‘yes’ the union government could get ahead, and if we declare ‘no’ they must pause and consider the steps they were about to take.”  A loud cheer followed immediately.

Sharply critical of the BJP régime, the CPI(M) Polit Bureau member said that it had taken the country to the edge of political and economic disaster.  It had foisted an environment of communalism on the nation.  It had also thrown open the portals of the economy to corporate capital, indigenous as well as foreign.  The sovereignty of the nation had been put on line.

The chief minister said that post-poll, the Left’s expectation of a non-Congress secular democratic alliance could not materialise, as they could not get enough seats.  The choice before the Left was then made clear.  It had either to support a Congress-led alliance of secular parties or allow the anti-people BJP to crawl back to office.  “We chose the former, and have provided support to the new government from outside,” said Buddhadeb.

Critical of the Congress as well, Buddhadeb reminded the vast assemblage that the Left and especially the Communists had fought against the Congress, both before and after independence, and that the Congress remained a party of the big bourgeoisie and big landlords. The decision of the Left, expectedly enough, was not to join the cabinet of ministers.  The struggle that the Left had waged for the toiling masses remained a factor that would never be compatible with the politico-economic stance of the Congress, declared Buddhadeb.

The Left has already communicated to the new union government the clear message that it should look to the villages, to the interests of the common people, and work to regain the economic backbone of the nation by protecting the strategic and core sectors.  The saffronisation must be undone.  Inchoate privatisation and liberalisation must be forthwith dispensed with.  The interests of the minority communities must be looked to. 

The chief minister also briefly narrated the modest achievements of the pro-people Left Front government in industry, agriculture, health, education, and generation of employment.  He thanked the electorate for voting in 35 Lok Sabha MPs from the state, of whom 24 belong to the CPI (M).

Other speakers at the rally, which was presided over by CPI (M) leader Prasanto Kumar Sur, were: Debabrata Bandyopadhyay (RSP), Nihar Roychoudhury (FB), Swapan Banerjee (CPI), Pratim Chatterjee (FB-M), Moni Pal (SP), Ratanlal Agarwal (DSP), Subhas Roy (RCPI), and Sunil Chaudhury (Biplabi Bangla Congress).