People's Democracy

‘Maoist’ Leader Declares

Support for Trinamul Congress

B Prasant

IN the seventies, the CPI(M-L) shouted out that ‘China’s path’ was their path, and the chairman of China was their chairman.  One recalls comrade Zhou-en Lai was subsequently to tell off a young and naïve CPI(M-L) delegation that the slogans were politically incorrect  -- and that the CPC condemned them vigorously.  It appears that the relic of ‘left’ anarchism continues to maintain the wrongs of the past.

Recently, in a statement circulated to the media, Vikram, a ‘Maoist’ leader has almost said that the ‘path of Mamata Banerjee is our path, too.’  In that statement, Vikram had said that it was the promise of the CPI(Maoist) that if the Trinamuli leader stood against the CPI(M) and the Congress, the ‘Maoists’ would not give any call for boycotting the polls and would proceed along the political roadmap given by Mamata Banerjee.

Other pieces of evidence are on record on the nexus between the ‘Maoists’ and the Trinamulis.  On interrogating the arrested from the so-called ‘relief camps’ at Helakata in the jangal mahal, run by the Trinamulis, the police has been able to identify and take into custody ‘Maoist;’ leader Bishnu aka Rimil Soren, the accused person in the dastardly murder of CPI(M) worker comrade Ananta Mukherjee.  In the meanwhile, the ‘Maoist’-Trinamuli nexus continues to run armed camps in places of Midnapore east including Nandigram, Kontai, Khejuri, Mugberia, and Bhagabanpur.

Those arrested from Trinamul-run ‘relief camps’ have led the police to caches of ammunitions and explosives including an AK-47 rifle looted from the EFR camp at Silda, plus 52 gelatine sticks, 61 rounds of cartouches.  The rifle had ‘EFR’ written on one side of the butt, and ‘PLGA’ which is the acronym for the so-called ‘people’s liberation guerrilla army’ of the “Maoists’ on the other side.

ON ‘BANDH’ DAY

Three trucks were set on fire in the jangal mahal in Midnapore west.  In one horrible instance, at Purnapani near Lodhashuli, once a tourist spot, the ‘Maoists’ stopped a truck, slashed open its fuel tank with axes, threw in a lighted matchstick, set the vehicle afire, and the crew started to flee in horror. 

The assassins who carried automatic weapons caught up with one of the fleeing, stunned him with a blow on the head, and as he started to scream, he was dragged away, and then before the horrified sight of the rest of the truck crew thrown into the flaming truck.

The poor man, Ajay Giri, aged 27 years, hailing from Mayurbhanj from across the state border in Orissa, cried out in fear and pain. With great presence of mind, the young man was agile enough to leap out of the far cabin door, roll about on the ground, and then start to run again, out-of-sight of the killers. He has since been admitted in a serious condition at the Jhargram hospital.

This is but the latest instance of the killing ways of the ‘Maoists.’  Across three column of news, Ganashakti, the Bengal CPI(M) daily, front-pages the ill-doings of the ‘left’ anarchists over the recent past. 

The story notes how the ‘Maoists’ had sabotaged the Gyaneswari express back on 28 May of last year killing 148 passengers and train crew.  On 21 June the same year, ICDS worker comrade Chhabi Mahato was raped and buried alive. The killers also murdered comrade Gopinath Murmu more recently, and the next day forced his widow to attend the ‘Maoist’ rally.

CITU leader Shyamal Chakraborty and secretary of the Orissa unit of the CPI(M) Janardhan Pati have vigorously condemned the nefarious assault on Ajay Giri.  There has been expectedly no condemnation of the incident neither from the worthies of the Bengal opposition nor from the so-called ‘intellectuals’ in their thrall.  Elsewhere, another piece of evidence is at hand on the ‘Maoist’-Trinamuli nexus. The police raided a house in Salboni acting on information, and took into custody ‘Maoist’ history sheeters.  The house belongs to a local leader of the Trinamul Congress.  Found during the search operation were gelatine sticks, cartouches, uniforms, and armaments.