People's Democracy

Protest Rallies Continue Across Bengal

B Prasant

THE process of holding a series of rallies and demonstrations against the anarchic tactics of the Trinamul-�Maoist� combine has continued with fervour across Bengal.  The jangal mahal has witnessed lengthy marches whilst the rural and urban areas elsewhere were the scenes of mass meetings where the speakers were members of the central and the state committee of the CPI(M).  The district of Hooghly where the opposition has started to attempt at machinating anarchic conspiracies has seen big rallies held across the entire region under the aegis of the CPI(M) and the Left Front.

Nonetheless, the killings of CPI(M) workers have continued as the opposition becomes more and more desperate.  Trinamulis have killed Comrade Sheikh Hasibul at Arambagh.  Comrade Subir Ali Mollah faced martyrdom in the hands of Trinamul assassins at Rajarhat in north 24 Parganas.  Hutments of kisans and khet mazdoors have been put to the torch in several districts of south Bengal. 

Elsewhere in the jangal mahal, a witness to the murder back on August 28, 2009 of CPI(M) worker comrade Mongal Soren was hacked to death by suspected �Maoists� on October 20.  Even a child was not spared by the Trinamuli goons at Dhaniakhali in Hooghly.  Eight-year-old Rahul Ruhidas was killed simply because they could not get to his father, CPI(M) worker, Ranjan Ruhidas. 

ATTACK

ON POLICE

In a grisly event, on October 20, two police personnel were killed by a gang of �Maoists� at Sankrail in the Jhargram sub-division of Midnapore west.  The policemen were on duty at the station when they were riddled with bullets and the killers abducted the officer-in-charge of the police station.  They looted arms and ammunitions from the station and also robbed a bank nearby.

Later, appearing in one after another of the big media television channels, the self-styled �Maoist� leader �Kishanji� said that the police officer �is held as a prisoner of war,� and called for the release of all �Maoist� activists held on such charges as murder and conspiracy to murder, from jail.

Biman Basu, secretary of the Bengal unit of the CPI(M) has condemned all the killings, abductions, and mayhem indulged in by the killers of the rainbow opposition in Bengal and has called upon all the CPI(M) units, at all functional levels, to organise protest demonstrations against the counter-democratic acts.  Campaign against the price rise and food security is also continuing in Bengal in different forms.  All Left mass organisations are also campaigning on the issue along their own organisational demands

MEDIA TO

THE RESCUE

Interesting has been the role of the Trinamuli chieftain�s favourite media channel, the Star Ananda in this regard.  While the chief herself would not make any comments on the Sankrail incident in condemnation, she even desisted from a rally she was scheduled to address in downtown Kolkata later on that day, the channel suo motu issued a ticker at the bottom of the screen noting that the chief was �heart-broken, and grief-stricken.�  At what or from what she suffered those feelings, however, never received a mention in the hurly-burly of getting to initiate a blame-game against the Left Front government as being responsible for all �Maoist� attacks.

Earlier, a TV channel has trod onto the secret blueprint of a game-plan of the rainbow opposition at Salt Lake.  In the guise of a festival anniversary meeting, the Trinamuli chief, her chosen foot-soldiers, known �Maoists,� and the creamy layer of the �civil society,� were to meet top �Maoist� leaders at a rendezvous in a certain quarters of the township.  On espying the TV cameras running, the Trinamulis and their �Maoist� musclemen heckled the TV camera crew as well as the young woman who was the reporter for the channel.  The goons even had the temerity to lodge a complaint at the nearest police station that the TV crew were sent to �kill their leaders.� 

STAGED DRAMA

AT WRITERS�

In order to put up a smokescreen to hide this found misdeed, the Trinamuli leader of the opposition along with two other MLAs descended on the Writers� Buildings and staged a dharna before the office of the personal assistant of the chief minister and loudly called for the chief minister�s arrest, no relevant �reasons why� were never a part of the shouting brigade.  Later, the police had these worthies removed and later released them on personal bonds.

Using the pretext of the arrest, the Trinamulis took to the streets the next day, burnt buses, wrecked vehicles, put up road blocks, and generally did their worst to bring life to a standstill, failing expectedly in the attempt.  Biman Basu has called these tactics �semi-fascist and terroristic� and has said that �such moves would encourage the forces of anarchy of every description in the state.�  He asked the Party units to be voluble in their protests against all attempts to organise attacks on the democratic fabric exiting in Bengal.