People's Democracy

                        Statewide Protests in Bengal

                        Against UPA Govt’s Corrupt Ways

                        B Prasant

A SERIES of meetings, rallies, factory gate meetings, and marches are being held across Bengal under the aegis of the Bengal Left Front and the CPI(M) from 5 until 20 December against the unprecedented corruption of the UPA-II regime. 

Bengal CPI(M) secretary and Bengal Left Front chairman Biman Basu told PD that the programmes would expose the conspiracy being hatched to cover up these massive scams that have unfolded in the recent past.  He stressed that the Trinamul Congress was involved as a partner in the frauds that were being uncovered.  The outfit was also a partner in the anti-people policies of the central government.

In Kolkata, the district Left Front is currently engaged in distribution of lakhs of leaflets that tell the story behind the central government’s corrupt ways.  Meetings are being held every day at the locality and neighbourhood levels. 

Postering has been done extensively as has been wall-writing.  A central wall-writing programme was held at the B B D Bagh on 12 December, and sit-in demonstrations would be held in front of central government offices including telephone exchange offices on 15 December.

18 and 19 December shall witness 30 rallies held in different places in the city.  On 20 December, the central rally would be held as a march to the Kolkata Telephone Bhavan.  Here, two large rallies would congregate near the Bhavan from the Subodh Mullick Square and the Birla Planetarium.

Addressing a rally at the Shahid Nagar in Jadavpur, state secretariat member of the CPI(M), Rabin Deb said that the Left alone spoke for carrying out struggles and movements against corruption and exploitation.  That is the reason why the Left is under attack.  Criticising the Trinamul Congress, the speaker said that the outfit represented terror, murder, and mayhem.

The speaker also said that the so-called ‘Maoists’ and the Trinamulis were hand-in-glove as recent events had again exposed.  The Trinamulis were also partners of the UPA-II government, which represented price-rise, corruption, and disinvestment. 

Lives and livelihoods of the people were under attack.  The CPI(M) and the Left Front have remained amidst the people fighting against the anti-people policies of the central government and the terror-tactics of the ‘Maoist’-Trinamul combine.  The arena of the ongoing struggle must be widened in the days to come.  Among others who addressed the meeting were Shamik Lahiri (CPI-M), and other Left Front leaders.