People's Democracy

LEFT CONVENTION IN BIHAR

Call to Unitedly Fight Pro-Feudal NDA Regime

SEVERAL Left parties in Bihar, viz the CPI, CPI(M), CPI(ML), RSP, Forward Bloc and SUCI(Communist), have given a united call to fight against the naked pro-feudal and neo-liberal policies being pursued by the JD(U)-BJP combine in Bihar. These Left parties also said the ruling combine is protecting the murderers and perpetrators of other heinous crimes against the poorest of the poor and also against political workers, particularly those of the Left parties, who have been in the forefront of fight against feudal oppression and against the loot of government money that was meant for the poor and the downtrodden, dalits and mahadalits.

The Left parties’ call came from a state level convention, held in the Junior Engineers Association Hall at Patna on May 14, 2012.

In connection with the crime situation in Bihar, the convention pointed out a recent telltale case. Only recently the Patna High Court delivered its judgement in the worst ever carnage at Bathani Tola, exonerating all the accused in the absence of evidence and indicting the government for its failure to pursue the case with the political will to punish the criminals. The latter belong to Ranbeer Sena, an illegal paramilitary outfit of the landlord of Bihar, headed by notorious Brahmeshwar Mukhia. This judgement speaks volumes about the shamelessness of the present dispensation. It is an open secret that many of the present day ministers and key functionaries of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have direct links with the Ranbeer Sena. It was not a matter of surprise for anybody, therefore, that immediately after its installation the first thing the present government did was to dissolve the Amir Das commission which was mandated to investigate the political links of the Ranbeer Sena. Thus the cat is out of the bag now and the entire National Democratic Alliance (NDA) stands stripped.

The convention pointed out that the murderers of two CPI(M) activists, namely Surendra Yadav of Samastipur (Dalsing Sarai) and Yogenda Sah of Madhepura, of the CPI(ML) activist Bhaiya Ram Yadav and of the RJD’s Mukhia Chhotu Singh are still roaming freely, with the open support of the NDA regime.

When workers of the opposition parties gathered in Aurangabad to protest against the murder of Chhotu Singh and Bhaiya Ram Yadav, were mercilessly beaten up. Even Rajaram, an ex-MLA belonging to the CPI(ML), was not spared. Moreover, hundreds of innocent people have been languishing in jail since then. More than a thousand people have been implicated in false cases and are being harassed by the police.

The spate of crimes that have engulfed Bihar in recent times, and particularly those against women, children and the most vulnerable sections of society like dalits and mahadalits etc, has sent shock waves all across the state. Gang wars among real estate businessmen have erupted in a big way in and around Patna, giving a new dimension to the law and order situation in Bihar and giving a total lie to the much touted claim of peace and prosperity under the NDA regime.

Listing all these incidents as well as detailing the callousness of the government towards land reforms and implementation of pro-poor policies, the said Left parties demanded the following:

1) The Bathani Tola carnage case should be pursued in the apex court in all seriousness and with the political will which it demands.

2) Ranbeer Sena leader Bhrahmeshwar Mukhia must be put behind the bar and must not be allowed to propagate his venomous ideas.

3) Criminals of political murders like those of Surendra Yadav, Yogendra Sah, Bhaiya Ram Yadav and Chhotu Singh should be brought to book and meted out exemplary punishments.

4) Those arrested during the protest movement in Aurangabad must be immediately released and all false cases foisted upon them must be withdrawn unconditionally.

The said Left parties have decided to unitedly stage statewide mass dharnas before the district headquarters in Bihar on June 15, 2012.

The main resolution was moved by CPI(ML) state secretary Kunal who made a scathing attack on the NDA regime which is nakedly protecting the feudal forces and encouraging them to attack the poor and downtrodden of the state.

While supporting the resolution and addressing the gathering, CPI(M) state secretary Vijay Kant Thakur characterised the present regime in Bihar as pro-feudal and cited the example of Dr Rajendra Prasad who came to the rescue of landlords of Bihar when the Bihar assembly was debating the land reform act in the 1950s. Thakur also recalled the land movements of the 1960s and 1970s and of more recent one of the 1990s, and also pointed to the martyrdom of hundreds of Left cadres during these movements. He emphasised the need to fight by launching powerful movements unitedly in order to change the present land relations.

Echoing the sentiment, CPI(M) state secretariat member Ramdeo Verma characterised the Nitish government as pro-feudal and subservient to the interest of the exploiting classes who are the backbone of this government. He made an appeal for unitedly mobilising the masses and fighting this anti-people government.

Badri Narayan Lal of the CPI, America Mahto of the Forward Bloc and Arun Singh of the SUCI (Communist) also addressed the convention, calling for Left unity in order to carry forward the movement unitedly.

Non-gazetted employees’ leader Manjul Kumar Das, intellectuals N K Chowdhary and S Bharati Kumar, Arun Kumar Mishra of the CPI(M) and other leaders of the CPI(M), CPI(ML), SUCI(C), RSP and Forward Bloc also spoke on the occasion.

The convention was presided over by a five-member presidium consisting of Sarangdhar Paswan (CPI-M), Bijay Mishra (CPI), K D Yadav (CPI-ML), America Mahto (FB) and Sheo Prasad (SUCI-C).