People's Democracy

WEST BENGAL

CPI(M) Announces Programme Of Campaign Movement

B Prasant

THE two-day state committee meeting (July 29-30) of the Bengal unit of the CPI(M) has resolved to condemn the AP firing, to launch a vigorous movement against the anti-people policies of the union government, and to announce a schedule of Party conferences.

Biman Basu, state secretary and member of the CPI(M) Polit Bureau, spoke on political-organisational matters. Central committee member of the CPI(M) Benoy Konar presided over the meeting, which saw the two other Polit Bureau members, Jyoti Basu and Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee present.

The meeting severely condemned the brutal police firing on a peaceful demonstration at Khammam in Andhra Pradesh and decided to send out a delegation to express solidarity and support of the Bengal unit of the CPI(M) to the movement. Benoy Konar will lead the delegation.

As per the resolution adopted at the recent meeting of the central committee, Bengal CPI(M) will lead a massive statewide movement in opposition to the anti-people policies of the union government. The state committee has also called for a vigorous anti-imperialist programme with Hiroshima Day (August 6), Nagasaki Day (August 9) and Anti-War Day (September 1). The programmes will be organised under the aegis of the Bengal Left Front.

Madam Bin has consented to come over for the Bengal-Vietnam Solidarity ‘mass festival’ between September 2 and 4. She will attend a rally at the Indoor Stadium in Kolkata on September 2. August 31 will see the commemoration of the Martyrs’ Day followed the next day by the Students’ Martyrs’ Day.

The Bengal unit has a membership, after renewal, that stands at just under 3.75 lakh, an advance on the just over 2.98 lakh as in 2006. Of the Party members, 59 per cent comprise workers, khet mazdoors, and kisans, with 45 per cent of the members having an average age of below 40 years. Women Party membership has increased by 2 per cent over 2006 to be at 12.07 per cent of the total renewed membership of the Bengal unit of the CPI(M).

The Party conference schedule has been drawn up. Branch conferences will be held over August 6 and September 10. Local conferences will be held between September 12 and 30. Zonal conferences will be organised between October 1 and 24. District conferences are to be organised over November 1 and December 20, with the state conference to be held in Kolkata over January 13 – 17, 2008.