ML Update : A CPI(ML) Weekly News Magazine Vol.-3; No.-43; 1-11-2000 Editorial Of Retrenchment and Retirement: Change of Guard in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal With Assembly election slated for early next year, both BJP-ruled U.P. and Left-ruled West Bengal witnessed rather predictable changes of guard. In U.P., Ram Prakash Gupta’s eminently forgettable innings has been brought to an end soon after Vajpayee’s knee-replacement operation. The BJP government in UP had all along been notorious for brutal police atrocities and systematic minority-bashing. Under Ram Prakash Gupta’s stewardship, the state administration had also touched new lows of inefficiency and the BJP was faced with mounting mass anger and alienation as well as severe organizational crisis and erosion of influence. Against this backdrop, the Sangh Parivar has catapulted an aggressive strongman like Rajnath Singh to the Chief Minister’s chair. The desperate move has obviously evoked comparison with similar exercises undertaken in the past, especially in Delhi when Sushma Swaraj was brought in to replace a discredited Saheb Singh Verma. In the event, the replacement could not stop the subsequent poll debacle and it remains to be seen whether Gupta’s replacement by Singh can arrest the BJP’s fast dwindling electoral fortune. The party had suffered a humiliating marginalisation in the recent panchayat elections, and we will soon see if the municipal elections due later this year have any different story to tell. The return of Kalraj Mishra as the president of the state unit of the BJP and the rise of Rajnath Singh as the chief minister however mark a serious crisis for the BJP’s experiment with so-called social engineering. For the time being the party has obviously chosen to suspend and even sacrifice its ambitious plans of expanding into the OBC base and has instead chosen to consolidate the party’s traditional upper caste appeal which too had started fading in recent times. This attempted consolidation is of course being sought to be supplemented by equally desperate attempts to work out a fresh deal with the BSP. The BJP’s back-to-square-one approach is also likely to witness desperate attempts at a deliberate aggravation of communal tension and criminalisation of politics. The times ahead will indeed prove challenging for democratic forces in the state. The change of guard in West Bengal is of course a study in contrast. When Jyoti Basu bows out on November 6, he will be opting for a kind of voluntary retirement to bring to an end an uninterrupted and protracted chief ministerial stint of more than 23 years. He had been harbouring retirement plans since 1996 when he had received the offer for the top job in Delhi. Now when he retires, there is no offer waiting for him in Delhi, even though the party has now readied its programme for any such eventuality. Basu had also announced his plans to step down a few months ago, but a resurgent Mamata wave and threats of central intervention had forced him to defer his move. Since then the CPI(M) in Bengal believes to have turned the table considerably on the TMC. Many of the villages ‘lost’ to the TMC have been ‘recaptured’ and politically Mamata finds herself in a soup over the hike in petro-prices. Basu’s retirement at this opportune moment, the CPI(M) strategists hope, would take some more wind out of Mamata’s ambitious sails by blunting the edge of her campaign directed all these years against Basu, the Chief Minister. Mamata has already started terming Basu’s retirement an escapist exercise, but what does she say about the replacement of Gupta in UP? Moreover, having previously blamed communists for clinging to power till death she has no basis for grudging Basu his well-deserved retirement. It is now widely accepted that over the years the Left Front government in West Bengal underwent an obvious metamorphosis in both theory and practice and this slideback towards a social-democratic course has clearly carried a strong imprint of Basu’s leadership. In the process Basu has of course developed a Vajpayee-like supra-party aura, a case of the-right-man-in-the-wrong-party kind. The party too has developed the art of treating him differently, no other leader could have got away with the kind of public fulmination against the party’s so-called ‘historic blunder’ that we have heard repeatedly from Basu since 1996. And now Basu has also managed to leave his mark on the party’s ‘updated’ programme. But the more he has been trying to recast himself as a communist Bidhan Roy, the more has he failed to placate the upwardly mobile sections of the middle classes in West Bengal. Meanwhile, considerable sections of the industrial working class have been steadily moving away from the party, and now agricultural labourers and other sections of the rural poor are also showing growing signs of unease and unrest. Basu’s charisma may have helped cement the Left Front coalition above, but the social alliance underneath has certainly started developing multiple cracks. As the Buddhadev Bhattacharyas, Subhas Chakrabartys and Saifuddin Chowdhurys fight it out among themselves over their respective shares of the Basu legacy, the CPI(M) in West Bengal, and by extension in the entire country, is evidently faced with a difficult transition. However much the Sangh Parivar may like to relish this with chuckles, genuine communists will surely draw the right lessons from experiences of the Basu era and make sure that the saffron chuckles are adequately answered by a different kind of red resurgence. Press release Statement by Party GS on Developments in U.P. "A token replacement of the Chief Minister in UP will in no way be able to lessen the growing mass anger against the notorious RSS-backed regime in the state. In all likelihood, the experiment of replacing Ram Prakash Gupta by Rajnath Singh will end in a similar fiasco as the farcical exercise enacted earlier in Delhi when Sahib Singh Verma had been replaced by Sushma Swaraj. The beleaguered BJP Govt. had collapsed miserably in Delhi and now it is awaiting a similar collapse in UP. "The unceremonious removal of Ram Prakash Gupta and the catapulting of Rajnath Singh as the Chief Minister coupled with Kalraj Mishra's rise as the party chief indicate a collapse of the BJP's experiments with so called social engineering in UP. With this bankruptcy of the saffron enterprise of social engineering, the BJP in UP is back to square one. The BJP led government in the state has all along been notorious for its anti-minority stance particularly for the veritable witch-hunt of Muslims in the name of combating ISI-sponsored activities. Secular and democratic forces will now have to remain alert against any possible saffron attempt to whip up Hindu communal frenzy over Ayodhya and other issues of minority-bashing. Dalit activists in the state must also be on their guard against any possible political deal between the BJP and the BSP." Party also condemned the growing incidence of atrocities on dalits in several parts of UP and demanded stern action against DM and SP of Barabanki for failing to apprehend the real culprits of October 20 incident of violence against dalits in which three persons had lost their lives due to the acid thrown on them by the feudal criminals and dozens got seriously injured. Commentary Balance-sheet of Jyoti Basu's Governance Having led the Left Front government for 23 long years, Jyoti Basu cannot complain shortage of time, instability of government or interference from the Centre. But the economy of the state has either stagnated or slipped down by all indications. Unemployment of youth has gone up leaps and bounds while the number of closed industrial units has shot up during this period. West Bengal has allowed other states to surpass it in SDP, per capita income and percentage of people living above poverty line. The state, which ranked third in terms of net domestic products in 1975-76, had slipped to the fifth position in 96-97. In per capita income standing, it has fallen down more sharply from the sixth position in 1976 to thirteenth position in 1991. The India Human Development Report prepared by the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) places West Bengal at an embarrassing 15th position with per capita income much lower than Punjab's Rs. 6,380, Haryana's Rs. 6,368, Kerala's Rs. 5,778 and Andhra's Rs. 5046. The state is ranked next to Orissa from the bottom in terms of percentage of population below the poverty line. Against a national average of 39%, West Bengal has a poor 51%. The much touted PDS is also least used in West Bengal along with Bihar, Orissa and U.P. Incidence of second degree malnutrition or stunted growth is high in West Bengal matching the figures of Bihar, U.P. and the Northeast. Purchasing power of the rural population is also below other states. Ownership of durables, a key indicator to rural economic health is among the lowest in West Bengal. It ranks alongside Bihar, Orissa, U.P. with the lowest record of electrified villages. A high proportion of households in rural Bengal do not have access to tap water, according to the latest Human Development Report. According to its 1964 Party Programme, CPI(M) had sought to come to power in states to introduce moderate reforms and provide modest relief to the people with this "higher weapon of class struggle". Abovementioned facts show that apart from suppressing the class struggle in the state with this "weapon", the Left Front govt. has miserably failed even in its above said objectives. This gives us no surprise, for when a social-democratic party attempts to run a bourgeois government according to bourgeois rules of the game, it has to fall victim to bourgeois maladies and end up only in creating illusions about the bourgeois system. If anywhere Jyoti Basu has scored a limited success, it is on this count. Bidding him farewell in his retirement party the bourgeoisie may extend him heartiest thanks, but what reason would the proletariat and toiling people find to do so? Protests & resistance Party Opposes Killings of Bihari Workers by ULFA and Attack on Church Party strongly condemned the brutal killing of 16 migrant labourer from Bihar by ULFA mercenaries in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of Assam. Citing similar massacres of migrant Bihari labourers in Karbi Anglong of Assam as well as Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, Party called upon the ruling RJD-Congress coalition in the state to shed its continuing apathy and insensitivity regarding the deteriorating conditions of migrant Bihari workers and put pressure on the Centre and other concerned state governments to provide better security and working conditions to the poor and helpless labourers who are being forced to migrate for sheer survival. Party also condemned the attack on a church in Nagpur and said that following the RSS threat to the Christians to homogenise with Hindutwa or perish, such anti-Christian terrorist activities are bound to multiply. Party appealed to all progressive, democratic and patriotic forces to strongly protest the RSS terror tactics of intimidation, assault and killing. For Development of Bihar, Against Criminalisation Seminar, meetings and other activities have been intensified all over the state under the banner of Bihar development movement. On 17 Oct. a development convention was organised by student youth organisations at Vidyapati Bhawan in Patna, in which more than 300 students and youth participated. It was addressed by Party Gen. Secy. Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya, Prof. Nawal Kishor Chaudhary and some other renowned intellectuals. Com. Dipankar said that whereas Bihar is facing the brunt of economic backwardness, notorious politicians of Bihar are adding insult to injury by showering empty phrases of development and reconstruction and holding ostentatious political shows. NDA and RJD-Congress alliance are beating one-another in criminalisation of politics and economy in Bihar and only they are responsible for the anarchy and misery that has already reached dangerous levels by now. The government notoriously known for scams never had the development of Bihar as its priority agenda even slogan's sake. No central minister or the so-called core group of MPs of Bihar has succeeded in getting any concrete plan of industrialisation and infrastructural investment for Bihar's development implemented. Only a powerful democratic movement can rescue Bihar from this mounting crisis. CPI(ML) has already initiated it and now the agenda of development must be made central agenda of politics in Bihar. In this sequence, a seminar was organised at Urdu Library in Motihari, the first of its kind, on 18 October. Apart from Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya, Com. Nandji Ram, convenor of Khet Mazdoor Sabha and other intellectuals addressed the seminar. It was attended by around 500 participants. Another seminar on the same topic was organised at Kala Bhawan in Purnea on 20 October. Apart from Com. Dipankar Bhattacharya, Com. Ramjatan Sharma, Com. Prabhat Kumar, a number of CPI, CPI(M) and old socialist leaders also addressed the seminar. Around 350 persons attended the seminar. Party organised a seminar on the same subject on 20 October at Dehri on Sone. It was inaugurated by Com. Pawan Sharma. Apart from other speakers, Com. Arun Singh, MLA from Karakat, Rajaram Singh MLA from Obra and Ashok Singh also addressed the seminar that was attended by over 1,500 people including representatives of Rohtas Udyog Bachao Sangharsh Morcha. Thousands of people under the leadership of the Party organised rail roko on 23 October at Nirmali subdivision of Supaul district on the demands of constructing high dam on Koshi river, linking Supaul by rail and road, and permanent solution to the chronic problem of flood. Led by Com. Muktimohan, Dinesh Mahato and Swarnima, the agitators faced brutal lathicharge by police. A dharna was staged protesting rise in petroleum prices as well as on developmental problems before the Chhapra collectorate. More than 100 persons participated in the dharna. A memorandum was handed over to the DM. A protest meeting against police repression was held at Barsoi in Katihar on 19 October. Attended by over 500 people it was addressed by Com. Ramjatan Sharma, who condemned the police for implicated 8 party cadres along with Com. Mahboob Alam in a false case at the instance of local BJP MP, and beating a party activist Com. Shamshul. Withdrawal of false cases against Com. Mahboob Alam and others was demanded. In the evening a cadre training camp was held at Gwaltoli in Barsoi in which 60 cadres participated. It was addressed by Com. Ramjatan Sharma and Sudama Prasad, member of Bihar State Committee. A protest march was held in Patna on 18 October condemning Tahira massacre in Siwan. Recently 17 persons have been killed in two massacres at Mujahidapur and Tahira villages of Siwan perpetrated by RJD backed criminal gang of Shahabuddin and BJP-Samata backed criminal gang of Satish Pandey etc. Party conducted a week-long mass campaign from 18 to 23 October against massacre and communalism in hundreds of villages, which was culminated in a "harmony rally" on 24 october. On 24 October Com. Dipankar visited Mujahidapur and Tahira villages and met people there. The administration clamped prohibitory orders on the rally to disrupt it and prevented thousands of people from reaching Siwan. Still, more than 2000 people participated in the march led by Com. Dipankar, Ramjatan Sharma, KD Yadav, Amarnath Yadav, Arun Singh, Satyadev Ram, MLA from Mairwan and Murtza Ali. While the march was detained, the leaders along with 4000 supporters were arrested. Against this highhandedness, protest day was observed throughout Bihar on 25 October. Programmes were also held in Calcutta, Jaipur, Guwahati, Lucknow and elsewhere. Anti-Price Hike Rally in North Dinajpur of W.B. On 23 October 10 CPI(ML) factions jointly protested against steep rise in diesel, petrol and kerosine prices throughout Bengal. In North Dinajpur, our Party took initiative to mobilise around 4,000 people in a procession to DM office covering 4-km route. When the agitators broke the police cordon in front of the DM office, police conducted lathicharge but the people did not get dispersed. A meeting was held there addressed by District Party Secy. Com. Ajit Das, veteran Com. Ramdas Mandal and Sushanta Sarkar. A delegation met the DM and handed over a memorandum to him. The speakers condemned BJP-led government's policy of surrender to imperialst globalisation which is getting manifested in one after another attack on people's livelihood, and called upon people to get prepared for larger and intensified protest movement in the coming days. Initiatives Initiatives in Kerala On 19 October, with the formation of RYA Palakkad unit, a study class was organised on expanding RYA. Party State Leading Team Secretary Com. John K. Erumeli inaugurated the class and SLT member O.P. Kunju Pillai conducted it. Com. Joy Peter T. and Com. Kannal A.R. provided the orientation to the discussion. Kerala State Leading Team published the Malayalam translation of two articles appeared in Liberation on the critical exposure of the draft programme of CPI(M) and conducted a wide discussion on these. Area Conference in Mahrauli of Delhi On 30 October area conference of Mahrauli was held in which 45 comrades including 36 delegates and 9 guests took part. Com. Rajendra Pratholi, Secy. of Delhi State Committee was the chief guest. A work report was presented and discussed upon. The conference elected a 9 member committee with Com. Ranjan Ganguli as its secretary. The conference resolved to intensify work in three areas and on the basis of this expansion, hold district conference by the end of next year. International Third World People Say No To WB-IMF A report released to coincide with the Sep. 26 protests against the World Bank and IMF in Prague catalogues more than 50 separate episodes of protest against World Bank-IMF policies in 13 poor countries involving more than a million people in the past ten months since Seattle. Half the protests ended in violent clashes with police and military. Ten people lost their lives, and more than 300 got injured. >From Argentina to Zambia, farmers, workers, teachers and priests have called for an end to IMF-imposed economic reforms. While the media attention in the West has focused on protests in the developed countries, the report argues that these were "just the tip of the iceberg". "In the global south, a far deeper and wide- ranging movement has been developing for years, largely ignored by the media", it states. "Millions of people around the world have seen the IMF attempting to undermine their national governments. It is seen forcing countries into a one size for all blue-print economic development, in the so-called structural adjustment programs. "All these policies hurt the poor. Most governments in the developing countries, seeking to retain power and to be acceptable internationally, choose the IMF over their own people" , the report states. The report summarises the protests in 13 countries. In Argentina a series of strikes and protests took place against the government. In Bolivia, escalating protests against the privatisation of water and a 200% price hike led to a general strike and serious movements called for an end to IMF policies. The president declared a state of emergency and soldiers were deployed. At least six people were killed. In Brazil more than a million people voted against IMF reform in a mock referendum, and several thousands followed the vote with a mass demonstration called the "cry of the excluded". In Ecuador, a mass movement of 40,000 people opposing further IMF reforms, led to the storming of Congress and subsequently a bloodless military coup. Despite its new president, IMF has continued with its reforms, leading to continued riots and civil unrest. 'Strengthen the Party' Campaign Principles of Democratic Centralism Now, on the question of democratic centralism there is a debate. So many things have bee said. I think the most important point was: the right to legitimate opposition, i.e., a bloc sort of thing, as a method to unify different parties in India into a single large Party. It is better if one sticks to the formulation that there is only one way of uniting different left factions and left parties into a single communist party. For the unification of left factions and communist parties we already have a different idea, viz. left confederation. In spite of all the existing differences among different parties, we can make this experiment for a broader unity of left confederation. But within a single communist party if we try that experiment... so far the experiences have proved to be negative. There has been the PCC which tried to operate on that basis. And all that tricks of unification in the communist movement and the ML movement on the basis of bloc operation and legitimized opposition have all ended in fiasco. They have only given rise to more groups than they had united. In contrast to that if we look at our Party's history and experience we never went for unity on that premise. But still comrades from different groups and different parties have always been coming to join our Party. If you check up our Party membership you will find a good percentage of them -- I think their numbers may perhaps surpass the number of comrades who were originally with us in 1974 -- have come from other parties... Some factions have even dissolved their organizations and united with our party. That way we have been able to unite a good number of left and Naxalite revolutionaries with our party. This has been our history. ... But the fundamental point of democratic centralism is that the whole party is subordinated to the CC, an additional formulation which often some comrades forget. This is perhaps the most important one. And this way the whole relation is reversed. The entire party means a big majority while the Central Committee is a minority of 25 members. This is very unusual. This is very different. And this is the whole crux of communist party's democratic centralism. Unless this is understood perhaps you cannot understand the full concept of democratic centralism in its integrity. -- Vinod Mishra, Selected Works, p 467-468. _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.wwpublish.com/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
