People's Democracy

LEFT FRONT ON GOVERNOR'S STATEMENT

'Putting Victims on Par with Killers is Painful'

The Bengal Left Front committee has issued the following statement on August 7, 2009:

THE press statement dated August 6, 2009, released on behalf of the governor of West Bengal and duly signed by him has pained and compelled us to respond to his reactions. While sharing the grief expressed by him we attract his kind attention to the fact that the political violence mentioned in the statement started before the elections to the 15th Lok Sabha and was targeted against CPI(M) in particular and Left Front in general. So far 74 CPI(M), 2 Forward Bloc workers, 4 JKP (Naren Hansda) supporters, 2 villagers and 3 polling personals were killed since declaration of the elections, notwithstanding 103 CPI(M) workers killed during the last one year (since September 1, 2008). The self styled Maoists take pride in openly claiming their ownership of most of these ghastly murders and their attempt to kill the chief minister of the state. We have no knowledge of any public statement released from Raj Bhavan on such occasions.

By asking �when the leading political formations of West Bengal have the same objective, why should violence not abate?� and arriving at a conclusion that he believes �those who can act, are not doing so,� leaves no distinction between the killers and the killed. The perceptive Indian mentioned in the statement would not have missed this difference and that probably explains why the statement is shy of taking his name. The role of some union ministers of the Trinamul Congress in encouraging this �tandava� has been amply explained in the memorandum submitted by a delegation of Left Front MLAs to the governor of West Bengal. We are not aware if the honourable governor has sent any report to the union government on the involvements of these union ministers in this matter.

We would humbly like to submit that the constitutional head of the state should exhibit more apparent neutrality while making statement in public. If worship of force in all its forms has to be eradicated, the way highest office of the state behaves should also call for a meaningful change.