People's Democracy

WEST BENGAL

Sustained Campaign against Price Rise

From Our Special

Correspondent in Kolkata

THE Left Front in West Bengal has begun a sustained campaign against price rise and attack on democracy in the state. Street corner meetings, local level processions were organised in the first ten days of this month. Thereafter sit-in demonstrations took place in front of central government offices in Kolkata and districts.

On July 12, Left Front state level leaders, including Biman Basu and Buddhadeb  Bhattacharjee participated in the sit-in at Kolkata in front of the income tax office. At the day long programme, Left Front leaders accused both central and state governments of pursuing pro-rich policies.

Addressing the gathering, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said, “the unrelenting price rise has very seriously affected the life of the people. But there has been no steps from the centre to check it. On the contrary, the UPA government has hiked the prices of petro products. Even the price of kerosene has been increased which directly affects the poorer sections. The Congress has refused to intervene as they were against providing subsidies to poor. Their policy is to allow market forces to dictate everything. What is the purpose of a government if it cannot do anything to safeguard the people”, he questioned.

It is necessary to mobilise wider sections of people to fight against these policies and compel the government to change its policies, Bhattacharjee said.

Condemning the ongoing violence on Left supporters in the state, Bhattacharjee said, “since the declaration of results of  polls, not a single day has passed without violence. People are being attacked, Party offices are being ransacked and captured by the Trinamool.  Strangely, the administration, instead of preventing the violence, is acting as a facilitator.

"When will all this stop? Our supporters are being attacked, driven out of their offices. Thousands of people have been rendered homeless. The farmers are being denied from ploughing their fields by the government, which says the plots are not theirs. All this is not acceptable. We will not take things lying down. We have planned rallies to protest against this across the state. The government needs to take steps," Bhattacharjee said. 

“We are keeping a vigil on whatever the government is doing”’, he said.

Biman Basu, strongly criticising the policies of the central government, said, “In the first UPA, the Left parties could resist some of the anti-people initiatives of the government. But now the coalition partners have no role in resisting the government. In fact, they are following same policies. Trinamool-Congress coalition government in West Bengal will follow same pro-rich policies”.

Left Front leaders announced that the campaign and movement against price rise would continue. There will be a big rally in Kolkata in late August.