October 29, 2013

SFI leader's death: Govt sits on rights body suggestion


TNN | Oct 29, 2013, 04.47 AM IST

KOLKATA: The Mamata Banerjee government is sitting on the West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) recommendations yet again.

The WBHRC directed the government to pay Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the bereaved family ofSFI leader Sudipto Gupta, who was killed in police custody while being taken to Alipore Jail. The government didn't take any action on the August 26 order on the plea that the matter is lying with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The SFI leader died on April 2 while being taken to the Presidency jail along with other protesters. The very next day, WBHRC took up the case suo-motu on media reports. During inquiry, the commission found that police had used a bus to take the protesters to jail and it was being driven by a driver who did not posses a driving licence. Subsequently, the commission directed the state to pay the compensation.

However section 35 (I) of Protection of Human Rights Act 1993 states: "The Commission shall not inquire into any matter which is pending before a State Commission or any other Commission duly constituted under any law for the time being in force." WBHRC members wondered how could the NHRC take up the matter when it was being probed by the state body.

According to sources from the state secretariat, the government had written to the NHRC about a month ago, asking for clarification from the commission as to whose order - NHRC or WBHRC - the government should follow as the matter was being taken up by two agencies. The NHRC took cognizance of the matter in May on the basis of two separate complaints filed by two NGOs, while WBHRC took cognizance of it suo-motu on April 3, a day after the incident. In fact, WBHRC communicated the same to NHRC on April 3 itself.

WBHRC received a communication from the government on September 12 saying that since the matter was being taken up by the NHRC, the state was in no position to implement the state human right's commission recommendations at this stage. Subsequently, this communication was placed before the full bench of the commission by registrar Rabindranath Samanta. WBHRC then wrote to NHRC saying that since it took cognizance of the incident prior to NHRC, it had no locus standi to investigate the matter fresh.

October 27, 2013

Manna Deys family upset with Mamata, refuses funeral in Kolkata


Aparajita Ray, TNN, Oct 24, 2013, 07.43PM IST

BANGALORE: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee called the late Manna Dey's younger daughter Sumita Deb around 11am on Thursday, asking to allow her government to host a grand funeral for the legendary singer.

She sent her representative, Kalyan Banerjee, MP from Kolkata, to pay tribute to the music maestro who had made Bangalore his home for two decades, and convince the bereaved family to allow the cremation to be performed in Bengal.

However, sources said Manna Dey's family ignored the Bengal CM's request and continued the rituals and cremation at the Hebbal crematorium here. Sumita was also not willing to talk to the West Bengal CM, they added.

The family was said to be upset with the apathy shown by the Mamata government in helping the singer's family during his five months of stay in hospital.

Sumita Deb told reporters the family had pleaded with the chief minister and Kolkata police commissioner to help them, when the funds set aside for his treatment were allegedly siphoned off by Dey's nephew. However, there was no response from them.

She said she hadn't rejected the offer to take the body to Kolkata but only decided to go ahead with the cremation, as everything had been arranged. "He was a simple man with great ideals, and would have preferred it this way."

Manna Dey's family had alleged that his nephew had withdrawn Rs 12 lakh from the joint account he shared with his uncle, jewellery and a watch valued at Rs 15 lakh from a locker.


"She didn't come forward to show any concern for the family which was going through a tough time in the five months and 10 days when he was undergoing treatment," Sumita said.

Manna Deys family upset with Mamata, refuses funeral in Kolkata

TMC Govt in West Bengal conspiring against me: Chowdhury

Last Updated: Sunday, October 27, 2013, 15:59  

Chowdhury's lawyer Pijush Ghosh said his client's name was in the charge sheet and the court accepted police's prayer and issued a warrant. 

"It's a cognizable offense and he can be arrested," he said. 

Trinamool Congress leader and Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee said the warrant is not a political matter. 

He was quoted by media, as saying earlier: "The court has issued some order and accordingly, the law will take its course. We won't comment on what he (Chowdhury) is alleging. He may allege anything but this is a court's order and not our party order. How can the government defy court's order?" 

But the Congress has called the move to arrest Chowdhury "a vendetta" since Murshidabad was his stronghold which Trinamool was trying to influence. 

"It is a plan of the TMC to weaken the Congress, as within a month, there will municipality elections in the district. The Congress, however, is prepared for every challenge," Chowdhury said. 

ANI
First Published: Sunday, October 27, 2013, 15:59

West Bengal floods and the blame game


By INDRANI DUTTA
THE HINDU, KOLKATA, October 21, 2013
It is indeed a tragedy that 17 lives should be lost in the recent floods in West Bengal, even as the trail of death and devastation left by the mighty Cyclone Phailin was hemmed in, in a manner that has attracted wide acclaim.
It is also ironical that an organisation like the Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC), described by India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as one of the temples of modern India, found itself in the dock, accused of causing a disaster it was mandated to control.
Last week, just as the country heaved a sigh of relief that there was no major loss of life due to the monster cyclone, in West Bengal, people and their habitats were getting submerged under the gushing waters from the DVC and Jharkhand.
Caught unawares amid Durga Puja festivities, the West Bengal government simultaneously launched a rescue operation, and a tirade against the DVC and Jharkhand government, even shooting off a letter to the Prime Minister labelling the disaster as man-made.
The truth lies elsewhere.
The DVC came into existence in July 1948 as a multipurpose river valley project. Among its primary mandates were flood control, irrigation, and generation, transmission and distribution of power.
It controls floods mainly through four dams constructed in 1959. Their present storage capacity is 0.73 million cubic feet. All these are in Jharkhand, which had given land for these projects although it is not the targeted beneficiary.
These dams help check the mighty Damodar river which floods large parts of south Bengal when in spate during monsoon. The DVC, whose command area lies in a crescent through south Bengal and Jharkhand, is co-owned by the State governments of West Bengal and Jharkhand, and the Government of India.
The ageing DVC dams have helped moderate major and minor floods in 1959, 1961, 1973, 1978 and 1995, although their capacity has been reduced over the years.
The Durgapur Barrage, and its irrigation and navigation canals in West Bengal’s Bankura and Burdwan districts play a major role in the State’s flood control mechanism. They were built by the DVC and handed over to the State government for operation and maintenance. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s has charged the DVC and Jharkhand government with frequent discharge of water, which was flooding vast tracts of her State, adding that this was being done without adequate notice.

INDIFFERENT

Experts say that the buck should stop at the door of the successive State governments in West Bengal, including the present one, which has turned a Nelson’s eye to issues like de-silting the Durgapur Barrage — whose storage capacity is vastly reduced due to lack of maintenance. A day’s notice is given by the DVC and there is a 48-hour gap between the notice and the water actually reaching the flood-prone areas in Bengal. The same cannot be said of the Jharkhand government, which often releases water without adequate notice. The quantum of the release from the DVC and Jharkhand dams is linked with the actual amount of rainfall which does not come with much advance notice.
This year, the rainfall was particularly heavy in this region, which is unusual for this time of the year. Some flooding due to release of water is unavoidable and proactive measures, rather than reactive ones are called for. But it is the West Bengal government’s duty to protect its people from a ‘routine phenomenon.’ Playing politics and a high decibel blame-game is not the best way to do that.

WBHRC report indicts TMC government, police in Presidency University attack case

By Indrajit Kundu  
India Today, Kolkata, October 22, 2013 | UPDATED 22:26 IST

KOLKATA: The West Bengal Human Rights Commission (WBHRC) on Tuesday finally came out with its observations on the April 2013 attack on Kolkata's prestigious Presidency University. 


In a scathing indictment of the Mamata Banerjee govt, the report blames 'police inaction' for the incident. The report clearly states that the ruling Trinamool Congress students wing TMCP was squarely responsible for the incident and that there was 'no provocation that came from within the University'. It also states that the police inaction was deliberate, as those on rampage belonged to the student wing of the ruling party.

WBHRC in its recommendations has asked the state govt should 'formulate suitable guidelines for dealing with cases of unlawful activities by the students in educational institutions'. In a scathing indictment, the report states that the police's 'failure to discharge duty' had resulted in serious erosion of values and vitiated the atmosphere in many educational institutions of the State.

The WBHRC had taken suo-moto cognizance of the incident that had shocked the entire students' fraternity in the state. The commission had formed a one-member committee headed by former Presidency principal Prof Amal Mukherjee. In his report, Mukherjee had claimed that the attack had a clear 'political motive', that it was done by 'outsiders' having specific political affiliations, that SFI was the main target of the attack, and that it was in 'retaliation to the attack on Bengal CM in Delhi the previous evening.'

OBSERVATIONS:

The Commisison finds that on 10.04.2013 the said University was peacefully conducting its teaching. The classes were also going on peacefully.  Around 1 O'clock a group of outsiders carrying TMCP flags and shouting slogans assembled at the main gate of university which was kept locked that time. 

Thereafter, the Registrar came out of the Vice Chancellor's room to receive a call on his cell phone when he heard a tremendous hue and cry coming from the gate and he rushed to the gate to find that the processionists had broken open the gate and entered the University campus. 

This version of the Registrar has virtually been corroborated by the Commissioner of Police and also by the Sub Inspector of Police, Sadhu Ch. Singha who was on the spot.  Sadhu Ch. Singha deposed that two of the processionists were trying to scale the university gate and were trying to tie the TMCP flags on the gate.

His findings are that at the time of the alleged incident, the situation in the University was peaceful and no provocation came from the University. These two findings tallied with the version of the police.

Mukhopadhyay gave details of the slogans which were raised by the processionists and from which it appears that they were angry with the SFI supporters in view of some incidents which happened in Delhi in which the Hon'ble Chief Minister of West Bengal was allegedly obstructed.

Professor Mukhopadhyay also held in the course of enquiry that one Shri Partha Bose, a Corporation Councilor of TMC was found standing with the unruly processionists who wanted to break open the University gate.

From the video footage shown to Professor Mukhopadhyay and the statement of Constable Sanjit, he came to hold that no brickbat was thrown from inside the University.

The human rights of the students certainly include the right to continue their studies in a peaceful atmosphere and the University authorities are also entitled to run the institution without being disrupted by such acts of hooliganism leading to destruction of their properties and leading to a total anarchy in the campus which posed a serious threat to the life and limbs of its students, teachers and members of the non-teaching staff.

Police was informed before the incident, in the course of the incident and police was present throughout the incident when the processionists went berserk in the University campus destroying properties, shouting slogans, assaulting students, chasing girl students at will for about an hour. Strangely enough no arrest was made even though the local Police Station was at a distance of less than one kilometer.

All these offences were committed with impunity by the intruders and the police was inactive. Any ordinary man of normal prudence will think that the police was inactive only because the processionists were carrying flags of TMCP which is the students' wing of the party in power.

In our opinion a major clash did not take place as the students of the University did not retaliate and were effectively controlled by their teachers. They were at the receiving end throughout the incident.

We do not think that for non-escalation of the situation, the Officer-in-Charge, Jorasakho Police Station deserves any credit. He miserably failed to discharge his duties possibly because he found that the rampaging students belong to the TMCP, the students wing of the party in power.


RECOMMENDATIONS:

The State Government should formulate suitable guidelines for dealing with the cases of unlawful activities by the students in educational institutions.

Even though law is clear, such guidelines are required to be made as police often fail to discharge their duties according to law to tackle unlawful activities by students in educational institutions.

This has resulted in serious erosion of values and vitiated the atmosphere in many educational institutions of the State. Instances of lawlessness by students are on the increase and these things must be curbed not only to protect the human rights of innocent students and helpless teachers but also to maintain the purity and sanctity of these institutions.

It must be remembered that the existing infrastructures in our educational institutions are inadequate and we can ill afford to deplete them further.

Education is the most cardinal factor in social development and without education all other rights are like writs in water. Those guidelines be framed by the State Government within two months from the date of communication of the order.

In so far as the inaction of the Officer-in-Charge of Jorasanko Police Station is concerned, the Commission refrains from making any recommendation as he has already been reprimanded by the higher authorities.

The State Government is requested to inform this Commission about the action taken on the basis of the recommendation as stated in (a) above within a period of two months from the date of communication.

Writers’ Buildings temporarily dethroned as West Bengal’s seat of power

The State Secretariat will move to Howrah while renovation work is carried out at Writers’

For the first time in its history, the buzz of power that reverberates in the corridors of Writers’ Buildings, the West Bengal Secretariat, will fall silent as much of the Secretariat, including the Chief Minister’s office, will move to a new address on the other side of river Hooghly on Saturday.

Though the shift is temporary, the Trinamool Congress’s decision to relocate as many as 11 of its departments out of the historic building in the heart of the city has generated much curiosity.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had announced on August 7 that the relocation would take place as the historic structure, which she said had turned into a “tinderbox,” needed to be renovated and restored.
On Saturday, thousands of State government employees along with the Ministers will shift to the Howrah River Bridge Commissioners (HRBC) Building, a 14-storied high-rise on the banks of the Ganga in the Howrah district.
The entire process of restructuring the HRBC Building, christened ‘Nabanna’ (new crop of paddy), and that of renovating and restoring Writers’, which was constructed in the early 18 century, is estimated to cost the State Exchequer about Rs. 200 crore.
The HRBC Building, which was conceived and set up during the tenure of the previous Left Front government, was to have housed a garment park; now instead it will be the new seat of power of the State government.
A glance at the history of both pre and post- Independent era shows that Writers’ was in private hands till the East India Company bought it in 1854. It has since been one of the most important pieces of architecture in the city and a major landmark.
Historian P.T. Nair said the reddish, customised emulsion that forms Buildings’s exterior was used to bind the red bricks during its construction. That gave the structure, both Gothic and Regal, its trademark red colour.
Like many State employees used to working there, who rue their new address mainly because of infrastructure bottlenecks and lack of facilities such as drinking water, Mr. Nair is also unable to reconcile to the decision to shift the State Secretariat to Howrah.
One consolation could be the State government’s assurance that all statutory bodies concerned will be consulted during the process of restoration and renovation work.
The Department of Architecture at two prominent institutions — Jadavpur University and Bengal Engineering and Science University — have been given the task of preparing a detailed report on the structure’s restoration.

West Bengal govt has 64 secret files on Subhas Chandra Bose: Family

KOLKATA: Family of Subhas Chandra Bose on Monday claimed that the West Bengal government held 64 secret files related to Netaji and that chief minister Mamata Banerjee had not responded to letters about them.
"They have 64 files pertaining to him. If they are made public, we will get a lot of information on him. We demand that these files should be declassified immediately," family spokesperson Chandra Kumar Bose told reporters.
"We had once written a letter to her (Mamata) but she didn't even reply. We want an appointment with her, but she doesn't even respond," family member Madhuri Bose said on the 70th foundation day of the provisional government of Azad Hind.
"If the state government isn't releasing files on Netaji, how can we ask the Central government to release files? It is the responsibility of both the governments to reveal all the records," said researcher Anuj Dhar, who has written three books on the life of Netaji.
In an earlier disclosure under the RTI appeal made by 'Mission Netaji', a Delhi-based research trust, the Prime Minister's Office had admitted that it was holding 33 secret files concerning Netaji.
The leader had escaped from house arrest by the British in 1941 to seek international support for India's freedom struggle. After organising the Indian National Army with Japanese help he went missing in 1945, giving birth to India's most debated mystery.
He was last seen at the Bangkok airport on August 17, 1945.
The Mukherjee commission formed by the Centre had rejected that Netaji had died in a plane crash in Taiwan on August 18, 1945.

October 16, 2013

PM's help sought on Saradha solatium

TNN Oct 8, 2013, 04.12AM IST

NEW DELHI: CPM leaders Sitaram Yechury and Surjya Kanta Mishra have written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking his intervention so that payment is made to victims of Saradha scam who lost their deposits. They have also demanded Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the scam.
Left leaders have suggested that prompt payment be made promptly by attaching the properties of Saradha Group in accordance with law and order as also directed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India ( Sebi) in April. They pointed out the solution is not giving grant through the Commission as is being done by the state government. "This process should start immediately with focus on attachment and disposal of properties, along with punishment for the offending group," the duo wrote to PM. Yechury and Mishra also met corporate affairs minister Sachin Pilot on Monday.
Talking to journalists, Yechury said, "The loss of time in attaching their properties is permitting these companies to clandestinely transfer their assets. We feel there is a complicity of the state government in blocking investigations and not attaching the properties." He said investors' money should be refunded through an auction of the assets of these companies. "To dole out some money out of its coffers to some of the lakhs of small investors who have invested their life's savings, is illegal," he added.
Yechury pointed out that the total fraud by the chit fund companies amounts to Rs 1 lakh crore out of which Rs 30,000 crore is by Saradha alone. "State government has created a fund of Rs 500 crore to pay investors. But it is less than 1% of the total value of scam," he said.
The letter to the PM also said that in the light of allegations made by one sitting Rajya Sabha member of Trinamool Congress against a senior party leader of having financial relations with Saradha Group, there is a need for immediate CBI inquiry. Yechury asked, "Why is he just threatening? He should give out the names. He should also cooperate with the SFIO (Serious Fraud Investigation Office) probe. He should have the courage to do that."
As to what action the erstwhile Left Front government had taken against such frauds, Mishra said it had not only attached the properties of such firms and compensated the victims, but also moved a PIL in the Calcutta high court. "After that, we also got a unanimous resolution adopted in the state Assembly. Even if the relevant legislation of the state government is pending, why are they not going by the high court verdict and attaching the properties of these fraudulent companies?" Mishra asked.

Mamata woos duped Saradha investors with money, feast

KOLKATA: Hilsa head and shrimp with vegetables, rohu kalia, potato stir fry, raj bhog (big size sponje rosogollas). No, this is not a lip-smacking menu of any famed Bengali food joint, but part of the repast laid out by the  government for those who lost their money when the chit fund aided Saradha Group downed shutters earlier this year.
The venue: Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra. 
The occasion: distribution of cheques by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to 929 investors who have been duped after parking their money in the ponzi schemes of the scam-tainted Saradha Group.
It was Banerjee's way of tackling any fallout of the scam, which came as the biggest challenge for her regime as it was perceived to be close to the Saradha boss Sudipta Sen.
Banerjee, who had earlier promised to compensate the depositors - mostly poor people in villages and small towns - decided to celebrate the occasion by organising the grand feast.
With the scandal having broken out shortly before the statewide rural polls, she had earlier formed a commission to probe the scam and recommend ways to return the money to the depositors and also announced a Rs.500 crore fund for the purpose.
Her steps at damage control seemed to have paid off, and the Trinamool came up with an impressive show in the July panchayat elections.
The well-publicised and lavishly organised programme inclusive of the sumptuous food is being regarded by observers as a continuation of her efforts to give a message to the duped investors that the government was by their side.
The beneficiaries of the day had deposited up to Rs.10,000 in the schemes, till the company went bust and closed shop across the state unable to repay the investors who had been lured by the promise of high returns.
Lakhs of people, mainly poor people in villages and small towns, have been affected by the Saradha scam. There has been a spate of suicides by investors and agents.
The government machinery kept no stone unturned to showcase the occasion and ensure its success.
Twenty cooks were engaged to prepare the food, while the beneficiaries were brought from all over the state at government cost.
"We were taken in a government vehicle to the local police station. There were were provided a good tiffin and given the bus fare. We took a bus and came to the venue in Kolka"a," said a beneficiary from Darjeeling district.
Official sources said the concerned district administrations were made responsible for bringing the beneficiaries for the programme and taking them back home.
From breakfast to lunch, evening tiffin and dinner and night stay - all arrangements were made.
The Murshidabad district administration, for instance, had sent vehicles to the Samserganj home of beneficiary Motiur Rahman."
"We spent a night at a panchayat training centre on the way. We were given a grand dinner there - rice, dal (lentils), fish curry, mixed vegetable, potato fry, chutney, papad and swe"ts," said Rahman.
Arrangements for around 3,000 people (including support staff) were made at the Kshudiram Anushilan Kendra, as the government spent lakhs of rupees to ensure the scam did not make any impact on the ruling p'rty's vote bank in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
A depositor seemed amaz"d. "I got back a part of the amount I had invested with the Saradha Group. But the money spent on the lavish arrangements could have been better utilised to give me back the entire am"unt".
The opposition Left Front lost no time in attacking the government for "he "money squand"red"."
"The government says it is deep in debt and has no money for development programmes. But at the same time it is squandering the tax p'yers' money to indemnify the investors who had been duped by the Saradha Group. What is worse is the lavish arrangements. They should have attached Sudipt' Sen's property and repaid the victims fro" it," said Leader of Opposition Surjya Kanta Mishra.
Undaunted, the government has anoounced it would indemnify 104,000 more depositors before the Durga Puja (beginning Oct 10). Two lakh more investors would get their money back after Diwali (Nov 2).
The government has set aside Rs.50 crore for indemnifying the depositors upto Diwali.
(Sirshendu Panth can be contacted at s.panth@ians.in)

Can Mamata still afford to call all this a political conspiracy?

KOLKATA: No garlands, no wreaths and his body covered with an old tattered sheet. This young man paid the price for his bravery was murdered in cold blood for standing up to goons who tried to molest his sisters in Burdwan District of West Bengal.

Victim's sister said, "At 3 in the morning, 4 men broke into our house and tried to molest me and my sisters. When my brother intervened, they shot him in the chest. When my parents raised a hue and cry, they ran away and we couldn't even recognise them." But his death is making no difference to the authorities in West Bengal.

Neighbour said, "The 2 sisters and their brother were sleeping in the same room. When they tried to molest the sisters, the brother opposed them. So they shot him in the chest."

Leave alone arresting his murderers, the West Bengal Police in the state are still scampering to identify them. Villager said, "We want stringent action to be taken. This is the third time women are being brutalised in this area. We demand action but we know that the guilty are being shielded."

A TV anchor publicly harassed, an actor's sister stalked, a state level swimmer targeted and now a brave heart shot dead for protecting his sisters from molesters. Can Mamata still afford to call all this a political conspiracy?


Ballot Papers Printed after Results To Manage Manipulations in Counting

Kolkata: THE ruling party along with the state's administration has turned the recent panchayat election into a farce in one third of the state. Now, with a motive to hide their gruesome manipulation at the time of counting, ballot papers are being printed in secret. On August 26, the leader of opposition, Surjya Kanta Mishra, made this serious allegation while addressing a press conference in the assembly. He had brought a motion in the assembly on the atrocious acts of violence at the time of the panchayat election that is still continuing. But the assembly speaker ruled it out. In protest, the Left Front staged a walk-out in the assembly but after a while they entered again to take part in the important discussion on the burning problem of the masses.

Later in the day while addressing a press conference Surjya Kanta Mishra said in connection with the panchayat election that the ruling party has continued with endless violence. They had indulged in fraud and malpractices at the time of counting also. The election commission has not been able to upload till date in the website information regarding details of votes in districts like Burdwan. It is because the ruling party has conspired with a section of the administration in tampering the counting process in the panchayat election. In counting centres, there were widespread tampering and forced manipulation of results. And now the account of ballots will not match with the results. This is the reason for which the election commission could not upload the result of Burdwan district. In all the districts the District Magistrate is the election official on behalf of election commission. The ruling party is continuously mounting pressure on them.

He said we have information that fresh ballot papers are being printed. This is to keep parity with the final result of the voting ballot papers are being stamped. We have news that somewhere near Durgapur, ballots are being printed afresh so that they can be stamped and their tampered result can be shown in accounts. If any case is registered in the court then they can hush up the matter. This is also something unusual that after counting re-elections are being held.

Mishra said in spite of all such deprivation and instances of vulgarism, Left Front has contested in 81 per cent of the seats. In one-fifth of the total seats, Left Front has not been allowed to contest. Apart from this, many Left Front candidates were not allowed to campaign even after filing nominations. They had to abandon their houses and live elsewhere. From the time of filing nomination to election campaign, the ruling party resorted to violent domination. On the day of the election, in some places there was partial capture of booths, while in some others, the booths were fully captured. The ruling party did not allow free and fair elections to be held in around 12,000 seats. In the assembly session the government refused to allow the discussion on panchayat elections as they are scared about the truth coming out.

CPI(M) CONDUCTS PRIMARY REVIEW
CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee in its meeting on August 22 while reviewing the results of the just concluded panchayat election, was of the view that wherever elections could be held combating the terrorisation and maintaining intimate relationship with the masses, results for the Left Front has been positive.

In a statement after the meeting, it was pointed out that the panchayat elections were held amid widespread violence in the rural areas. The ruling party and the state administration turned it into an undemocratic process right from filing of nomination to withdrawal, campaigning and counting. People’s verdict has not been properly reflected. Even after this the ruling party has continued with its path of violence, arson to capture the Boards. The Left Front and the Party activists and sympathisers have risked their lives and fought bravely to combat the attacks perpetrated throughout the election. Specially many new activists have faced the challenge valiantly.

It said that the review work is on but primarily it has been found that due to violence, candidates could not file their nominations in 5206 Gram Panchayat, 782 Panchayat Samity and in 8 Zila Parishad seats. Even after filing of nomination, candidates have been compelled to withdraw in 2176 seats. Barring one district, the ruling party totally captured 3834 booths and partially captured 2309 booths and has resorted to rigging ruthlessly. At the time of counting, leaving four districts, it has been found that in 1486 Gram Panchayat, 363 Panchayat Samity and 58 seats in Zila Parishad rigging has been practiced in the counting centres or results have been overturned and the seats have been captured by the TMC. In spite of all these, the percentage of votes captured by Left Front in 16 districts is 37.97 per cent. TMC has got 43.03 per cent. The Left Front got more than 40 per cent votes in 4 districts, 37-40 per cent votes in 6 districts.

The state committee also noted the rampant use of money power by the TMC in these elections. In the analysis of the results of the election, along with the political situation, the organisational weakness of the Party, weakness in maintaining mass contact, weakness in running panchayats has also been pointed out. More detailed analysis of the results will be done at every level of the Party.

The meeting was attended by Pparty’s general secretary Prakash Karat who called for continuing the struggle for maintaining democracy, combating the attacks of the ruling party and its government.

Karat explained the decisions taken in the just concluded central committee meeting. He said economic condition is deteriorating at a rapid and grave pace. Movement will be launched across the country on the issues of price rise, unemployment, food security, wage, land etc. Central gatherings will be held in the state capitals on alternative policy. It shall start with the Chennai rally. Emphasis shall be paid on country-wide campaign against communalism. In this context, a central convention will be organised in Delhi with other secular parties.