People's Democracy

PURULIA ARMS DROP

Targeting the Left Front Government

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) issued the following statement on April 28, 2011.

THE latest revelations on the arms drop in Purulia in West Bengal in December 1995 are further confirmation of the fact that there was a well planned conspiracy to use violence to destabilise the Left Front at that time.

Whatever has been said by Kim Davy, a prime accused in the case, and Peter Bleach, who was sentenced in the case, shows that the arms drop for the Ananda Margis was planned through an international network and the target was the Left Front government. It was known at that time that the British intelligence had alerted the Indian government about the arms drop. Yet, the central government failed to inform the West Bengal government about the matter in time. Even as early as 1990, according to the home minister’s statement in the Lok Sabha, there were reports of the Ananda Marg arranging for arms to be brought from abroad (see attached statement). Still the matter was not taken seriously.

It is imperative that the central government explain why it failed to act on the information given by the British intelligence. It should also explain how Kim Davy was allowed to escape from the Mumbai airport at that time. Further, the government has shown no urgency in getting Kim Davy extradited from Denmark to stand trial. Was any central government agency complicit in the operation?

The Purulia arms drop was a serious assault on India’s sovereignty and a diabolical plot against an elected government and the constitution.

The entire episode of the Purulia arms drop is a graphic example of how various anti-communist forces have been targeting the Left Front government of West Bengal. Such moves are still on even today.