ASSAM
Citizens’
Convention against
Attack on
Democracy in West Bengal
Satanjib
Das
A LARGELY attended
Citizens’
Convention against attack on democracy in West Bengal and to
protect the unity
and integrity of Assam
was held at Guwahati on September 8, 2013. Dr Chandra Mohan
Sarma, an eminent
educationist and former professor of Guwahati University chaired
the
convention which was addressed by several distinguished
personalities. The
spacious auditorium of Bishnu-Nirmala Bhavan where the
convention was held was
packed to its capacity. The convention in a resolution adopted
unanimously
expressed grave concern at the onslaughts on democracy in West Bengal unleashed by the ruling
TMC. It underlined that while the
CPI(M) and the Left Front, the main opposition forces in West Bengal, bore the brunt of this
onslaught, the attack was not
confined to the Left alone. Even the Congress and other
parties in opposition
had not been spared. The fundamental democratic rights of
citizens to express
one’s opinion freely and to organise meetings, demonstrations
etc, have come
under severe attacks. The resolution noted that the chief
minister herself had
launched a tirade against the right to strike of the working
class. In the
arena of education, the goons of the ruling party are ruling
the roost. The
democratic process of election of students’ unions has been
done away with. The
atrocities on women have registered an unprecedented rise. One
party
authoritarianism has raised its ugly head. This was manifested
in the way the
recent panchayat election had been made a farce, the
resolution noted. The
resolution pointed out that the attack on democracy in West Bengal bore an ominous portent
for the entire country as this
state was an advanced outpost of the democratic and working
peoples’ movement.
The weakening of this outpost would lead to weakening of
democracy and
resistance movement of the working masses against the
anti-people policies of
the ruling class in the entire country. The resolution
therefore called upon
all sections of people in the state of Assam
also to come out against the onslaught of democracy in West Bengal.
The resolution also
expressed serious
concern at the grave situation in Assam
arising out of the demands
and movements to vivisect the state and form separate states.
The decision of
the Congress and the UPA to form separate state for Telangana
had triggered
these divisive movements. The resolution pointed out that the
vivisection of Assam would not
solve the problems of any of the ethnic groups of the state.
Rather the
problems would get more tangled. The resolution therefore
called for
maintaining peace and amity among different ethnic groups and
for defending the
unity and integrity of the state.
Dr Monirul Hussain,
Professor
Guwahati University, Sudhakisna Sarma, a noted singer,
Kanaksen Deka, an
eminent journalist and former president, Asom Sahitya Sabha,
Prof Abdul Mannan,
Mukut Bhattacharjee, a progressive writer, Bijon Lal
Choudhury, an eminent poet
and writer and Hamen Das, member, Assam state secretariat of
CPI(M) addressed
the convention. All the speakers expressed their serious
concern at the
situation prevailing in West Bengal and Assam
and called upon the people of the state to come out boldly in
defence of the unity of Assam and against attack on
democracy in West Bengal.
The convention was
organised under
the auspices of the CPI(M) Kamrup metropolitan district.
People's Democracy