People's Democracy

Bengal LF Govt Looks To The 
Youth For The Road Ahead: Buddhadeb

THE Bengal Left Front government has little doubt that the youth of the state would show the way into a brighter future. It devolves on the pro-people state government to wipe away the tears of sorrow from the eyes of the poor and to bring smile to the face of the youth in the days to come. 

Thus spoke Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, Bengal chief minister and former leader of the DYFI. Buddhadeb was addressing a massive indoor rally of the youth in Kolkata recently at the Netaji Indoor Stadium.

Buddhadeb began with a slice of fond memory when he recalled the stormy days of political-ideological tumult in the late 1960’s, the decade in which the DYFI was born. Beginning its journey from a base of 37 thousand-odd members, the organisation now boasts of nearly 84 lakh members across the province. 

‘How could I not be extremely proud of and happy about the present state-of-affairs of the flourishing Bengal unit of the DYFI?’ exclaimed a smiling Buddhadeb amidst a great deal of cheering and flag waving.

Statistics available at the DYFI state office reveal that from 75, 74,243 members in 2004, the strength of the DYFI membership in 2005 has been 83, 55,887—delineating a growth of 10.3%.

Dwelling on the massive participation of the youth of Bengal in the recent Assembly polls, Buddhadeb said that the Left Front government was sharply aware of both the aspirations and requirements of the youth for development. ‘We do know that poverty and unemployment—part of the all-India legacy of dysfunction—continue to cast a silhouette, in however small a cluster, on the youth of Bengal, and we are determined to ensure that the pace of development will be accelerated meaningfully in the days to come,’ was how Buddhadeb would put it.

Buddhadeb iterated strongly that the runaway success in agriculture that Bengal had experienced during the Left Front governance laid the foundation of the province’s industrial growth. While assiduously going about further improving the agricultural expansion and diversification of crops, the LF government aimed at developing such non-formal, agro-based industries like those based on vegetables, fruits, and flowers.

The emphasis will continue to be on the factor of employment generation, assured the Bengal chief minister who also said that a priority would be creating more jobs in the rural and semi-urban areas of the province. Production and employment are the twin engines of growth in the days to come, commented Buddhadeb.

Buddhadeb also said that the LF government would attach great importance top self-employment, self-help groups, and to cottage and small industries. There should be coordination between rural and urban growth and in making that possible; creation of more jobs for the youth could be a key. 

Buddhadeb concluded by appealing to the youth to look to a bright future and the way to move was forward --all the way.

Buddhadeb also inaugurated the official website of the state DYFI (www.dyfiwb.org). 

The meeting addressed, among others by all-India DYFI secretary Tapas Sinha and Bengal DYFI secretary Asitanga Ganguly, was presided over by DYFI state president Abdul Hai. (B P)