DANGEROUS PORTENTS OF GJMM MOVE

KOLKATA: The Bengal unit of the CPI (M) has expressed its worries over the developments of a divisive and sabotaging nature taking place in Darjeeling under the direct guidance and leadership of the Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM). It has written two letters to the Chief Election Commissioner in this regard. Below we quote the relevant portions of the two letters dated 19 and 20 April 2009.

“(…) we draw your attention to the serious situation prevailing in the three hill-subdivision Assembly segments of Darjeeling, Kalimpong, and Kurseong under the 4-Darjeeling PC, conditions that would surely prevent free-and-fair polling on 30 April 2009.

We may say that the Gorkha Jana Mukti morcha (GJMM) and its electoral partner the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is hell-bent on not allowing any electioneering and/or political campaigning by our Party in particular. Indeed, you may kindly note that the process of election itself is being distorted by these two political parties (i.e., GJMM and BJP) to the detriment of democracy, peace, amity, and solidarity.

The GJMM is engaged seriously at all levels to target the religious and linguistic minorities. The GJMM has several times forced the minorities to take part in processions that the GJMM has organised. The threat hangs ominously in the air that nobody would be allowed to vote against the GJMM-supported BJP candidate from the 4-Darjeeling PC, especially in the hill sub-divisions.

The GJMM has most recently asked the two organisations that they run viz., Hotel Workers’ association, and Taxi Drivers’ association to boycott all supporters of the CPI (M) candidate and they have forced the issue that no hotel rooms and no vehicles would be made available to any supporters of the CPI (M) candidate, thus crippling our election campaign considerably and in a most undemocratic manner which is also in contravention of the Constitutional proviso.

The GJMM as part of its threat technique has publicly pronounced that since they would know who voted for whom, they would initiate appropriate measure against those who do not vote for the BJP candidate.

The GJMM has kept ready a trained ‘police force’ that they call the Gorkha Land Personnel (GLP) at the ready at Gorubathan in the hill area and these trained men and women, supervised by ex-Army instructors are to be deployed in the polls, the GJMM has publicly declared, 15 per booth, and the apparent aim is to terrorise the voters into polling for the BJP candidate. They have also declared that no CPI (M) agent would be allowed to do his/her duty at the polling stations.

Even more serious, the election personnel of Darjeeling are tutored to work in favour of the BJP candidate, and mock training is being provided to the election personnel by the GJMM workers so that the official and other personnel persuade the voters to vote only for the BJP candidate. This is just a mockery of democracy.

In the same vein, the AROs including the SDO Siliguri himself is engaged in filing false and fictitious FIRs against CPI (M) workers. They also brief the media saying that the CPI (M) is the greatest violator of the Mode Code while flooding the different Police Stations with bogus complaints against the CPI (M) without checking the veracity.

In view of the above, we demand the following steps should be immediately initiated.

A. Para-military forces should be deployed right now and flag marches organised so that the voters regain confidence.

B. Polling personnel should be deployed from both the hill and the plains area. Employees from the plains too must be deployed as polling supervisors, and close circuit camera should watch out for malpractices within booths during polling.

C. Sector officers should carry hidden video recorders while each booth should be manned by CRPF personnel.

D. The GLP training camps at Gorubathan should be dismantled and legal action if any deemed necessary taken against the organisers of the camps.

E. The present system of decentralised counting should be rigorously adhered to instead of the proposed centralised counting at Darjeeling.

In its second letter, the Bengal CPI (M) wrote:

“It has come to our knowledge that more than 400 members of the Gorkha land Personnel (GLP) have been identified as carrying out arms training at Gorubathan near the border with Bhutan. They are trained by former Army instructors, and they wear olive green camouflage fatigues like the Indian Army.

These GLP personnel have been seen threatening voters to support the BJP candidate when the time comes for exercising their franchise. They have also been engaged in tearing own flags, banners, and festoons of the CPI (M) in the three hill sub-divisions.

In view of this, we demand:

A. CRPF should be deployed as early as possible in the hill areas and flag marches undertaken to restore voters’ confidence
B. The GLP camp at Gorubathan must be immediately dismantled and proceedings drawn up as per the law of the land against all the personnel involved in the camp, as trainers, trainees, and administrative. Please ensure that no civilians are allowed to wear/use Army fatigues.
C. The CRPF should be maintained beyond the date of the election, 30 April 2009, to prevent post-poll violence that we apprehend, and to keep pre-poll peace that the people desire.
D. Other measures as appropriate for a free, fair, and peaceful polling in the three hill sub-divisions should be initiated and as early as possible. (….).”

The response of any kind from the office of the CEC/CEO is yet awaited as we file this report.

BENGAL CPI (M) PROTESTS ONE-SIDED ACTS OF THE EC

KOLKATA: As in the past, political parties are requested as a routine to be present when allotments of time of addresses by them on the AIR and the Doordarshan are drawn by lots. The office of the CEO took a sudden decision recently to change the date of this pre-scheduled meeting at the behest of ‘two political parties’ neither of which belonged to the Left Front.

The Bengal LF leadership wrote to the CEO’s office protesting this vehemently and finally, the meeting as rescheduled was chosen by the officials to be postponed. This is a clear example of the pattern of behaviour of the officialdom as the polls approach.

Complaints have also been received from districts like Raigunj up in north Bengal where the EC officials, suo motu, has started to wipe graffiti off from walls of houses from the owners of which the CPI (M) had had prior voluntary permission procured in writing.

Also, in cases where the CPI (M) is in the process of wiping out graffiti at the behest of the EC, the officialdom would turn their face away as the space would be promptly utilized for wall writing by the Pradesh Congress and the Trinamul Congress.

Strong letters have been written by Biman Basu, secretary, Bengal CPI (M) to the CEC protesting all these and many other acts of commission and omission, and calling for appropriate remedial action, although to little avail, as we file this report.

ARMS CACHE RECOVERED FROM TRINAMULI'S HOUSE

KHEJURI: Trinamuli hooligans, about 50 in number, all armed with countrymade guns, swords, and knives, pounced on the stage from where the fisheries minister of the LF government, Kironmoy Nanda leader of the Socialist Party was to address a rally on the evening of 19 April. The venue was the Nonapara village at Nichaksaba area at Khejuri II GP. In the lead was the Sabhadhipati of the Midnapore east himself, one Ranjit Mondal, and a GP member of the locality, Debashis Das.

Led by Mondal and Das, the drunken goons had earlier issued threats to the people of the area, the GPs of which are now with the Trinamulis, as are the Panchayat Samities, not to go near the rally to be spoken to by Kironmoy. The hoods even cut down trees and attempted to barricade out Kironmoy. Then they suddenly realised that people were streaming in despite whatever evil deeds the Trinamulis had done, to their worst, and that the speaker himself was well on his way to the rally grounds.

Infuriated, the thoroughly desperate hooligans jumped up on the dais, and broke it completely apart with well-aimed blows from shovels, spades, and large hammers. Then they proceeded to tear down and desecrate the Red Flag, finally putting the entire stage to leaping flames by pouring petrol and lighting up matchsticks.

While the local CPI (M) leadership, out of considerations of safety, prevailed upon a completely exasperated Kironmoy from proceeding farther, the LF itself held not one but two succeeding rallies at the same grounds one in the evening the other late into the night, daring the Trinamuli goons to come forth if their courage or lack of it permitted them to do so. CPI (M) leader of the district and LF convenor of the Contai Lok Sabha seat Nirmal Jana has told us that protest rallies and marches are being held today 20 April throughout Khejuri and that such protestations shall be held all over Contai on 21 April.

Elsewhere, an arms cache was recovered by the police at Kendemari at Nandigram I called a ‘liberated zone’ by the ‘Maoists’ and their Trinamuli underlings. Sheikh Bacchu who is a history-sheeter and is a covert Maoist activist was caught red-handed while trying to smuggle arms into Khejuri, Kendemari and beyond.

The cache included one Italian Biretta 9mm pistol, one Italian Valtro 9mm pistol, plus one US Army-issue lightweight Smith & Wesson 9mm (Polymer Frame) pistol as well as several countrymade revolvers plus hundreds of cartridges, some packed into magazines, some carried loose in pre-sealed polythene bags.

One shudders to think what would have happened to how many innocents had not the miscreant with his deadly cache been apprehended. One recalls that just in the wake of the declaration of results of the 2008 Panchayat polls, two CPI (M) workers were killed at Kendemari at the hand of ‘Maoists’ and Trinamulis.

MAOISTS LAND MINE BLASTS: TWO SERIOUSLY INJURED

PURULIA,15th APRIL:A land mine burst with a deafening sound at Balarampur area in the district of Purulia seriously injuring two CPI (M) workers. The land mine was of the form of an improvised explosive device (IUD) packed with steel balls and nails that explode out with deadly effect once somebody steps on the spring-loaded trip wire.

The CPI (M) workers on their way back from fields when they tripped up the trigger and faced the wrath of the explosion. Eyewitnesses told us that the entire area had been plastered with ‘Maoist’ posters, which called, as is the wont of the people of that ilk, to boycott the polls, or else…. The two kisans injured in the blast are Samaj Mondal and Madan Mondal.

They were rescued by a rather unlikely person in the shape of an owner of an illegal distillery of the area who was courageous enough to step around the several other trip wires stretched nearby and pull away the heavily bleeding men. Admitted to hospital nearby, the doctors give the two injured but a slim chance of survival. Nevertheless, we believe that they are tough kisans, and true sons of the soil, and that they shall pull through.

Bombs, guns found at congress leader’s house

MALDA: Within 24 hours of the blast, the Police stumbled upon a large cache of fire arms and bombs, plus bomb-making materials from the houses of a clutch of Congress leaders in Maldah district. Acting on a tip-off, the Police raided the house of Sheikh Siraj, a Pradesh Congress muscleman, at Jadupur under Kaliachak PS.

They found two large-calibre ‘pipe guns’ (that fire the banned .319 calibre ammunition) and a large quantity of deadly ‘socket bombs’ that have the capacity to kill dozens each. Siraj and his two ‘worthy’ sons also history sheeters and Pradesh Congress loyalists were taken into custody.

Interrogating Siraj the Police found another useful lead. Acting on it, they raided the house of Azahar Ali, a Pradesh Congress leader and a strongman of the area of Bamangram at Kaliachak, who was then, caught making IUDs and bombs. More than a 100 bombs and IUDs were recovered as were 20-odd socket bombs. There is no doubt that these weapons of killing were prepared by the Pradesh Congress stalwarts for the forthcoming phases of the Lok Sabha elections in Bengal.

THE THIRD FRONT SHALL EMERGE STRONGER, POST-ELECTION

KOLKATA,16th APRIL: Queried repeatedly by the media at a briefing that Biman Basu, senior CPI (M) leader addressed late in the evening of 16 April at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan, on the prospects of the Third Front, the speaker quoted his favourite Bengali colloquial saying that it would be seen after the Lok Sabha elections as to ‘koto dhaney koto chaal,’ or the reality of the political situation that would obtain post-poll.

BRIGHT PROSPECTS

The forces that had earlier pooh-poohed the Third Front were now ready with an outlook of soft obeisance towards it, politically speaking. They have realised, as the polls commenced, that their pre-election perception would undergo a change as far as the political circumstances, which would rigorously, inevitably evolve—and the Third Front surely stood to gain and not lose out when the votes would start to be counted.

Turning to Bengal, Biman Basu started off by pointing to the crowded nature of the candidates’ list this time in the North Bengal districts where the first phase of polling would take place on 30 April, e.g., Coochbehar (10 contestants), Alipurduar (8), Jalpaiguri-SC (10), Darjeeling (10), Raigunj (12), Balurghat (8), and Maldah north and Maldah south (9 each).

There was a similarity of this with the situation obtaining in the western Bengal districts that, too, would go in for polls on the same day, like Ghatal (7), Jhargram-ST (8), Midnapore (8), Purulia (14), Bankura (11), and Bishnupur (7). One notes that these are the ‘disturbed districts’ in the sense that in the north, GJM, GNLF (recently resuscitated complete with separatist slogan-mongering), KLO, and KPP are active, supported by both the Trinamulis and the Pradesh Congress.

In the laterite zone, on the other hand, the Trinamulis and their ‘Maoist’ minders have a foul run, killing, kidnapping CPI (M) workers, burning down Party offices, and generally keeping the people thoroughly terrorised especially in the jangal mahal -- and threatening the state LF government with ‘dire consequence’ once the elections see the presence of either government officials or the police concluding para-military forces.

GAME-PLAN OF VIOLENCE

Biman Basu finds a link between the violence that preceded the polls in these areas and the unusually large number of candidates put up. Is it done to confuse the people? Is it a plan to ‘harm’ some of the wild-card, planted candidates and then make a mockery of the poll process?

In the run up to the polls, the LF chairman calls upon all democratic-minded people to foil the game-plan to divide up Bengal once again. The forces of division and violence must be isolated and the democratic norms rigorously adhered to everywhere.

Biman again commented that to the Trinamulis and the Pradesh Congress, the Lok Sabha polls were akin to Assembly elections as far as electioneering and modalities of campaign were concerned. They would not touch the national issues and would only concentrate on harping anti-CPI (M) slogan-mongering whether in their ‘election manifestos’ or their speeches delivered with particularly alarming brand of violence. Biman called upon the people of Bengal to keep up the past traditions and to keep the poll process peaceful, ignoring provocations and even attacks. All attempts at anarchy and disorder must be countered by mass mobilisation.

‘TRUTH’ AND ‘HONESTY’

Biman also launched a scathing attack on the recent and large cut-outs of the Trinamuli chief (the total number of cut-out put up across the state is just over 21,500!) that carry the message that ‘she is the symbol of truth, the icon of honesty.’ Biman merely quoted the Trinamuli ‘manifesto’ that states at one place that eight crore of people in nine districts have to drink arsenic-contaminated water. Even if her contention of arsenic poisoning is taken at face value (that ‘fact’ too is of course a lie), would she say that the rest of the 10 districts are inhabited by a mere 50 lakh people, since the latest census figured put the total population of Bengal at 8.5 crore.

The ‘symbol of truth,’ also makes another horrible faux pas. In the ‘manifesto’ and in her speeches she points out how a LF minister while attending a divisional meeting of officials at Maldah arranged for A luncheon that cost—wait for it – Rs 12,5 crore. How low, we ask, can one go with a puerile hatred for the Communists? There can be no doubt that the electorate of Bengal would provide a fitting reply to such ‘pieces of precious truth’ on behalf of the ‘icon of truthfulness’ when the polling starts over the three phases in Bengal.

BRIGHTENING PROSPECTS FOR THE THIRD FRONT AT THE LOK SABHA POLLS

KOLKATA,14th APRIL: General Secretary of the CPI (M) Prakash Karat firmly nailed the lies about a bi-partisan contest in the 2009 elections to the Indian parliament. The UPA was unravelling. The NDA was missing its partners. Only the Third Front was growing in strength. There was another imperative. The strength of the non-BJP, non-Congress forces could never be judged until the election results were declared.

Very many of the political parties outside of the two main bourgeois formations, in government in states yet not officially declared constituents of the Third Front, would then firm the ground on which the Third Front stood. Prakash Karat was in address to an impressively arrayed corps of the Kolkata media at the Press Club that stands right amidst the green of the summer maidan on a pleasant breezy afternoon of 14 April.

The CPI (M) Polit Bureau member said that the Third Front was as far from the ‘illusion’ that the corporate media would describe it as possible. The contest would be a three-cornered fight in most seats, indeed in the bulk of the constituencies. Of the UPA partners, most were in contest against the Congress bar the DMK.

The Third Front is made up of ten political parties and they have come to a political understanding regarding the Lok Sabha polls. Following the elections, more parries would join in, a common minimum programme drawn up, and the prospect of forming a government at the centre would all the time become more and more of a realistic proposition. The Third Front emphasises four principles, viz., pro-people economic policy, secularism, independent foreign policy, and strengthening of the federal structure.

On the understanding at the present juncture, the speaker pointed out citing Jaya Jayalalitha’s recent statement that the regional parties would much prefer to form state government on their own, of their own without tailing the two big political formations, the BJP and the Congress. Regional parries already have excellent record of accomplishment in running state governments in Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, and Orissa besides in the three Left-led states. There was no doubt that such regional parties, coming together, would be able to run a government at the centre, and with pro-people efficiency.

On being repeatedly probed for the name of the prospective prime ministerial candidate of the Third Front once it would win the polls, Prakash Karat said that such a question could only be raise and mitigated once the leaders of the Third Front sat together post poll. Prakash Karat also said that the Left had had good relations with the regional parries earlier as well as in 1996, and the principal aim of the Congress and the BJP had been, and still is, to destabilise such alliances. Prakash Karat also pointed out that the question whether the left would be able emote the correct role, come a Third Front government would be far more important than the numerical strength of the Left in the new parliament.

Dismissing any political understanding post poll with the Congress, Prakash Karat said that the presence of the Third Front was also politically antithetical to the communal forces as the BJP-RSS combine. The moving away of the BJD from BJP in Orissa has isolated the communal forces there in that state. An alliance with Left participation was fighting the Congress and the BJP in Andhra Pradesh. Kerala witnesses the usual fight out between the LDF and the UDF with the communal forces losing ground.

On Kerala, Prakash karat said that there was no alliance between the LDF and Madani-led PDP, the latter being engaged in supporting the LDF on its own initiative. Madani has been acquitted of all charged slapped earlier on him in the Coimbatore case. The Congress and the UDF keeps in close touch with the real terrorist organisation with the innocuous name and style of the NDF.

Dismissing as useless the ‘debate’ on who is a strong prime minister and who is not, Prakash Karat said that the more important thing to remember was that the strict stance of the Left in and out of parliament on the so-called reforms had saved the nation from the disastrous after-effects of the great depression spreading across large parts of the world. The Congress was unable, thanks to the left opposition, to expose the sectors of the economy vital to the nation and the people like the pension funds and insurance as well as banking fully to the forays of international finance capital.

Nailing the so-called ‘clean’ Singh governance, the CPI (M) leader pointed to the missile deal with Israel even as the investigation into the earlier Barak missile deal was not complete, the telecom scandal involving upgradation of the cell phone network to 3G, and the instance of bribery in the parliament for purpose of winning the confidence motion. All this will be featured in the election campaign of the Left and of the Third Front, the CPI (M) general secretary assured. He pointed out that there was also need to increase international political pressure on Pakistan so that it was willing to take effective steps against terrorism.

Describing the upcoming Bengal polls as a tough fight, Prakash Karat said that the Left Front would win a decisive electoral triumph, he had no doubt. Nandigram or any other single issue would not come up as an issue of importance in the Bengal polls. The vote will be conducted based on all-India issues in the main. Prakash Karat condemned the move of the BJP to run its candidate from Darjeeling with help from the separatist GJM.

A THIRD FRONT GOVERNMENT WILL STAND AGAINST IMPERIALIST FORAYS

KOLKATA, 14th APRIL: Once a Third Front government comes into office in Delhi, and the prospects for this to happen were getting more and more illumined with the passage of every week, the days of imperialist forays in India would be severely numbered. The same would apply for the forces of religious fundamentalism of every kind. This was said by Prakash Karat, CPI (M) general secretary at the rally organised at Kolkata’s Mahajati Sadan by the Shahid Yadgaar Samity on the occasion of the Jalianwalabagh Day in the late afternoon.

Prakash Karat also said that the new governance once it assumed office would cancel the three ‘deals’ the Singh government had worked out with the US. These were the defence deal, the nuclear deal, and the deal on following the US dictates in running the Indian economy.

Launching an attack on the Hindu fundamentalist and communal forces as represented politically by the BJP-RSS combine, Prakash Karat said that L K Advani had recently written letters asking support to 1000 sadhus and sants from the list prepared by the RSS. In the letter, the BJP leader had assured the religious persons that he would form a committee comprising their ranks once a BJP-led government assumed office in Delhi. At the same time, the BJP-RSS axis has kept up its assaulting forays on minority communities of every kind. The Congress has always compromised with this force of violent communalism.

The Rajinder Sachar committee despite its weaknesses has exposed the conditions of the Muslims in India. The Left had called upon the UPA government to draw up a sub-plan for the minority communities in the 11th planning period and had also demanded that the UPA government set aside 15% budgetary allocation for the minority communities. The same demand has been raised by the Bengal chief minister before the central government. The central government has expressed its inability to comply with the requisition. The self-same Congress now sheds crocodile’s tears for the minorities as the elections approach.

In Left-led states, the state governments have set up plans for the minorities to the extent it is possible given the financial handicap within which these governments have perforce to function. There could not be an overall development of the minorities in India if the central government chose to ignore the issue with a callous outlook.

Prakash Karat said that there was continuous infiltration of imperialism into every sphere of the nation, be it economy, culture, and society as a whole. For this, both the NDA and the UPA central governments are responsible. The people fought the imperialist forces 62 years ago. Even after gaining political independence, the struggle against imperialism continued. A wide unity of the masses must be built up and the imperialist forces fought off, concluded Prakash Karat who also released a CD of election campaign material. Present at the rally also were state secretary of the CPI (M) Biman Basu and the two Left Front-nominated CPI (M) candidates from Kolkata, north and south, Mohd Salim and Rabin Deb. All the speakers recalled the Jalianwalabagh massacre and said that the struggle that followed provided an element of strength in the anti-imperialist fight in India.

‘PSEPHOLOGICAL’ SURVEYS IN BENGAL HAVE ALWAYS GONE WRONG FOR THE CORPORATE MEDIA

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By B. Prasant

KOLKATA,14th April: A few statistics quoted would be good enough for the present ranks of ‘psephologists’ in the pay of the corporate media, print, as well as audio-visual, to go slightly berserk, if their collected memory remains intact after the impact.

In 2004, the ABP group, the Bartaman, and the Pratidin dailies plus news channels of the same mould of political orientation, had predicted a ‘severe decline in popularity and thus certain defeat for CPI (M) candidates’ in the following seats, each of which, incidentally, the Party candidate won with very impressive margins.

The constituencies are Krishnagar, Jadavpur, Nabadwip, Jalpaiguri, North-west Kolkata, Basirhat, Asansol, and Hooghly. In each case, the CPI (M) candidate scored electoral triumphs with bigger margins than those in the earlier Lok Sabha polls.

We recall in this connection how prior to the 2006 Assembly polls, the Trinamul supremo had, basing her knowledge on the ‘facts’ supplied by the corporate media, predicted with confidence that her outfit would win ‘99%’ of the 294 assembly constituencies. She ended up with 29. Earlier to that, during the 2004 Lok Sabha polls, her predictions of ‘winning’ had gone more horribly awry with the Trinamul-BJP combine having to be satisfied with just one seat.

As an aside, we may also bring to mind the sky-high praise the Trinamuli chief had for the Election Commission of India for free and fair polls in the 2006 Assembly elections. Following the winning of 235 seats by the Left Front, she quickly changed tack, and blamed everything on ‘high-tech, computerised’ rigging. The corporate media were quick enough in their undying loyalty to their political leaning, to take up the chant as well as the refrain.

Not content with the lessons that the people have taught them, the bourgeois political outfits, their left sectarian partners, and their minders in the corporate media are into the same game during the present polls even as the LF candidates’ campaign surge ahead with clear signals of increasing popularity.

LALGARH VILLAGERS AGAIN CHASE AWAY ARMED ‘MAOIST’-TRINAMULI INCURSION

LALGARH,12th APRIL: In a show of people’s solidarity, and of unity of the poor, the Left-led villagers of hamlets strewn around Lalgarh and the Sijua area contained and chased away a massive armed aggression by the invaders of the various ‘Maoist’ splinters, with the Trinamuli hooligans bringing up the rear. We saw how the villagers withstood a barrage of gunfire, and then came out in their thousands flying the Red Flag held proudly aloft and simply chased away the invading goons before they could reload their weapons.

Lathis prevailed over guns right in front of out very eyes. The ‘Maoists’ had earlier been engaged, in the guise of the so-called ‘people’s committee’ in the onerous task of forcing ‘subscriptions’ of upto Re one lakh from the local traders and businesspersons, including middling farmers. They had also been seeking to taunt the local people into joining their ranks by blackguarding and ridiculing the names of the Left Front and the CPI (M). The villagers were gradually becoming very, very angry at these ploys.

The ‘Maoists’ had in mind in fact an ‘occupation’ of the villages bordering on Lalgarh including Madhupur, Memul, and Godamouli in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls. The villagers of the area initially protested the initial bouts of incursion. When the shooting started, there was an initial hesitation and confusion amongst their ranks. Soon, led by CPI (M) workers, the villagers rose as one and shouting slogans and waving the Red Flag started the chase, braving bullets.

The counter-charge was something the ‘Maoists’ and their band of armed Trinamuli underlings had not quite expected. They fired in panic, indeed emptied their guns, their aim getting awry in the mêlée, and then ingloriously ran away, the dastardly cowards, when finding that with a righteous roar, the villagers were almost on them, and there was little time to re-equip their deadly weapons with fresh ammunitions. The chase however could not last long enough for, the assassins fled across the border into their safe abode of the Jharkhand state.

KILLING OF CPI (M) WORKERS CONTINUE UNABATED

However, the killing of CPI (M) workers continued unabated elsewhere. With the murder of comrade Asim Mondal (45) of the jangal mahal of Belpahari in Midnapore west, the total number of CPI (M) workers martyred at the hands of the of ‘Maoist’ and Trinamuli assassins now total 58. Back on 18 March, two CPI (M) workers, comrade Durga Deshawali and comrade Santosh Mahato were murdered by the same gang of murderers in the same rural zone.

Comrade Asim was quite a popular figure of the area. He would interact with a large circle of people of the villages. Anyone and everyone could approach comrade Asim for help and guidance. He was in close touch with the poorer sections of the people of the area, in particular. This was greatly resented by the ‘Maoists’ and the Trinamulis. Comrade Asim also played a crucial role in winning back after a gap of 25 years the local Binpur-2 Gram Panchayat during the rural polls held earlier. The opposition were in a bind when they thought that the Binpur win might be repeated in this segment of the Jhargram Lok Sabha constituency, in the parliamentary elections. Hence, they chose to attack and kill comrade Asim.

Comrade Asim worked in a shoe-making shop at the Bhulaveda crossing. He was in the shop, and it was six in the evening of 10 March. He was engaged in small talk with a small group of clients when two men got off from a motorbike, approached him, took out two nine mm pistols—and shot him in the head and chest five times before ‘walking’ their vehicle for a distance, then firing off the engine and roaring away towards the thick dense thickets of the Dangarbihar jangal mahal. The clients stood shell-shocked as comrade Asim fell to the ground, heavily bleeding, and died in front of their grieving eyes.

Biman Basu, state secretary of the CPI (M) has condemned this cowardly hit-and-run attack by the ‘Maoists’ and has called for an early arrest of the culprits. Comrade Asim leaves behind his wife, a son, and a very young daughter. Several large processions were taken out in the Bhulaveda area by the CPI (M) as well as at Hadda, Silda, and Belpahari villages, while another set of marchers walked bravely along the Lalgarh-Sijua area, a ‘Maoist’ stronghold off-and-on, condemning the murder of comrade Asim and calling for a complete isolation of the killers from the people.

In between, the ‘Maoists’ have given a call for a ‘total ban’ on the entry of the police and of state administration officials for the Lok Sabha polls in the Lalgarh-Sijua area. They have declared their preference for the conduct of the polls by the members of the foreign-sponsored group of self-proclaimed ‘social activists’ who call them selves Sushil Samaj or ‘civil society.’

On the other hand, the Trinamulis have called for the ‘immediate removal’ from their posts of the state LF government’s chief secretary, the home secretary, the director general of police, and of the inspector general of police in charge of law-and-order. The chief electoral officer of Bengal has asserted that polling would be done as per regulations and the Model Code of the Election Commission of India would be followed, as in the past.

BUDDHADEB ARGUES STRONGLY IN FAVOUR OF A LEFT-LED ‘THIRD FRONT’ GOVT IN DELHI

KOLKATA,12th APRIL: Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was in address to a gathering of the intellectual crème de la crème of Kolkata and Bengal on the morning of 12 April at the packed Sisir Manch downtown metropolis. The rally saw participation by persons of littérature, painters, theatre-and-drama personalities, poets, novelists, columnists, artistes of every form, as well as vocal and instrumental maestros. Noted poet Krishna Dhar presided.

The CPI (M) looks forward to formation of Left-led ‘Third Front’ governance at the centre, said Buddhadeb in clear tenor, mincing neither word nor emotion. The government must be one that the Left with their comprehensive agenda of pro-poor development, secularism, democratic sensibilities, and their strong and declared preference for the maintenance of the integrity and sovereignty of the nation. The Third Front is filled with reality and stands as a viable alternative to the two principal bourgeois formations led by the authoritarian Congress and the religious fundamentalist and divisive BJP.

Buddhadeb pointed out that the constituents and potential partners of the Third Front were in fact in governance in very many Indian states. The Congress is witness to desertion by its allies and friends even after sticking to office for five years. The weaknesses of the Congress governance were noticeable and did not escape the sight and sentiment of its legion of allies.

The Congress would not do much for the poor—it was more interested in fashioning a compliant alliance with the forces of US imperialism on the nuclear ‘deal.’ Food production goes down, kisans commit suicide at ever higher, frightening statistics, rate – a total of over 1.8 lakh of the sons of the soil have taken their own lives by their own hand because of the simple avoidable situation whereby procurement prices were not available to any viable proportions. The farmers continue to choose death over starvation and disintegration of families in large parts of India – the Left-led states being exceptions of relief for the peasants.

In a situation where the Congress is in no position to even repeat what was a poor performance during the 2004 Lok Sabha polls – where it had won but 145 seats – even the so-called political backyard of the Congress in Uttar Pradesh has slipped out of its hands in a major way. The Congress is a poor third in most states now more than ever in terms of popularity – electoral and otherwise.

One reason why the popularity of the Congress is on the rapid slide of waning can be explained by the Dr Arjun Sengupta report where it is said that the daily wage of 705 of the people the country is less than Rs 20. At the other end of the spectrum is the existence of four of the richest ten persons of the world. This glaring contradiction has virtually wiped off the image the Congress seeks to build up before the people, as the Lok Sabha polls approach. No wonder then the Congress finds itself friendless, alone, isolated, and on the decline.

On the other hand, stand the menace called the BJP-RSS combine. They have started to propagate as if terrorism is synonymous with Islam, which of course suits their Hindu fundamentalism. This combine stands against the secular fabric of the nation itself. Subsequently the Malegaon explosion has proved the connection between the BJP-RSS brand of Hindu fundamentalism and terrorism. BJP, too, stands witness to desertion of ranks of its allies. The BJD in Orissa is an important recent example in this regard. The BJP must not be allowed to crawl itself to office, for if they do, the nation itself will be under great danger.

Buddhadeb continued say that in 2004, the left had taken the risk of supporting the Congress from the outside to prevent the BJP from coming to office. This time, the Left calls for the Third Front based not on personalities but principles and policies. The Third front looks forward to pro-people outlook and policies. The Left looks to pro-poor developmental programmes, strengthening of the rationing system, and increase of plan allocation in such basic subjects as health and education.

The centre-state relationship must be retooled to provide more power, political and financial, to the states. There should be comprehensive ambience of democracy and secularism. An independent foreign policy should be put in place. These policies would only fructify if the Third front government that would come to office at the end of the Lok Sabha elections, were led by the Left. For this purpose, said Buddhadeb, a larger number of Left Front MPs must be elected from all over the country especially from the three Left-ruled states of Kerala, Tripura, and Bengal.

In Bengal, the opposition is out to confuse the outlook of the poor and the adivasis. Forces of separatism have started to encourage divisive elements in Bengal, in the hill areas and in the western districts of the state. The Left Front is not weak-kneed to these dangerous developments. It depends more on the power of the people that on that of arms and violence. Buddhadeb also told the gathering that the Left Front believed in a form of cultural pluralism. The different cultural centres of Bengal like the Natya Academy and the Bangla Academy are run by the Left Front government with this perspective firmly in place.

Mamata vocal in Bengal, silent in Parliament

a poster by cpi(m)

By Tarun Goswami

The Statesman,

13th April,2009

KOLKATA, April 12: If the performance of an MP in Parliament is the criterion for re-election, Trinamul Congress chief Miss Mamata Banerjee would seem to have shot herself in the foot.It may sound unbelievable, but Miss Banerjee who is so vociferous against the CPI-M and speaks frequently about the state's development, did not ask a single question in Parliament as to why there had been inordinate delay on the Centre's part in clearing some of the important projects for the state in the past five years. During this period Miss Banerjee had made only 8 special mentions, participated in just 33 debates and did not raise any supplementary question. From an analysis of Miss Banerjee's performance in Parliament it may well be concluded that she was fully satisfied with the performance of the UPA government and her Kolkata South constituency was free from any trouble. The Parliament records of two firebrand CPI-M MPs, Mohammad Selim and Mr Sujan Chakraborty, too, seem to be far from satisfactory. While Mr Selim had asked only a single question during the past five years, his comrade Mr Chakraborty had asked 16 questions, which is just two questions per year between 2004 -09. Like Miss Banerjee, Mr Selim did not ask any supplementary question during the past five years. During this period, he had made 14 special mentions and participated in 97 debates. Mr Chakraborty has raised only one supplementary questions in the same period, made 6 special mentions and taken part in 39 debates. CPI-M heavyweight and the party's MP from Barrackpore, Mr Tarit Topdar, in whose constituency closed factories are a major issue and who blames the Centre for the failure to revive them, had asked just 16 questions, participated in 11 debates and had made 2 special mentions between 2004 and 2009. He did not ask a single supplementary question. Another party heavyweight Mr Nikhilananda Sar from Burdwan had not asked any question at all in the past five years though he had taken part in 14 debates and had made one special mention in 5 years. He also did not find any suitable issue to ask supplementary questions on in the past five years.By contrast, the Congress's Mr Adhir Chowdhury had raised 849 questions in the past five years and taken part in 109 debates. He made 26 special mentions and had asked 13 supplementary questions. Analysing the records on the performance of the MP, it is evident that he is head and shoulders above his colleagues in Parliament from the state. Next to Mr Chowdhury is Mr Basudeb Acharya, CPI-M MP from Bankura. He had asked 491 questions and took part in 240 debates. He made 61 special mentions and had asked 4 supplementary questions. Mr Joakim Buxla of the RSP, MP from Alipurduar and Mr Subrata Basu, Forward Bloc MP from Barasat, both of whom have been dropped this time by their respective parties had done quite well in Parliament. While Mr Buxla had raised 300 questions in the past five years, his colleague Mr Basu had asked 372 questions in the past five years. Both of them had participated in 30 debates each. Mr Shamik Lahiri, another much pampered leader of CPI-M had asked 29 questions and made 2 mentions. He did not ask any supplementary questions in the past five years. However, he had taken part in 13 debates during this period. From the analysis of the performance of the MPs from the state, it can be said that more than 30 of them did not perform at all in the Lok Sabha. In Parliamentary democracy, the MPs are supposed to be the voice of the people who had elected them. For West Bengal, it appears as if the MPs had attended the sessions, taken their allowances and perks, and let their electors down with a thud.

Paramount Airways to launch operations to Kolkata

CHENNAI: The city-based Paramount Airways is set to launch its operations in the Chennai-Kolkata sector by the end of this month. Paramount Airways Managing Director Thiagarajan recently met West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and discussed its proposal to make Kolkata as its gateway to northeastern operations, a release here said. The airline would launch operations of daily flights in the Chennai-Kolkata route connecting Guwahati and Agartala by the last week of April, a Paramount Airways official told PTI. The flight from Chennai would take off at 7:05 am and arrive Kolkata at 9.10am and from there proceed to Guwahati and Agartala. The return flight would leave Kolkata at 1.25 pm and reach Chennai at 3:30 pm. Paramount Airways launched its operations in October 2005 and has since achieved a market leadership of 27 per cent in southern India, the release added.

BJP for creation of smaller states: Jaswant Singh

SILIGURI (WB), 10 April: BJP candidate from Darjeeling Lok Sabha seat Jaswant Singh on Friday said his party was in favour of smaller states but refrained from saying if it was for creation of a separate state of Gorkhaland. He said BJP in principle favoured creation of smaller states and the NDA government had created three states in the country. Without uttering the word 'Gorkhaland', Singh told a press conference that his party would 'sympathetically and appropriately' examine and consider the long-pending demands of Gorkhas, adivasis and other people of the area. Later addressing an election rally at Sukhiapokhri in Darjeeling, Singh, describing the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha's demand for a separate seat as 'constitutional', said he would raise the matter on the floor of Parliament and do everything possible for the development of the district. The former external affairs minister, who is supported by GJM, accused West Bengal's Left front government for neglecting the district and the hills, in particular. He charged the Left Front government, during its 32 years of rule, had failed to provide the people of the district with minimum facilities like health, education, and road communication.

New oral cholera vaccine holds promise

New Delhi, April 10: A new low-cost oral vaccine against cholera, whose production technology has been transferred to India, could soon be made available to the people in the country’s endemic areas to help them gain immunity against the disease, which kills about 120,000 people globally every year.

“After 38 years of drought in cholera vaccination and cholera outbreaks not abating, it is very heartening to know that there is an affordable orally administered vaccine available now,” health ministry advisor N.K. Ganguly said Friday. He was participating in a policymakers’ meeting here Friday on the “Introduction of cholera vaccination using new-generation oral cholera vaccines in India”.

The vaccine, after trials and evaluation on a sample size of 70,000 people in Kolkata “has been found to provide over 60 percent protection and no decline in protection over two years”, John D. Clemens, director general of the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute (IVI), said at a press conference after the meeting.

Half of those in the sample size were given the new vaccine while the others were given placebos.
The IVI, which developed the vaccine, Feb 24 transferred its production technology to Hyderabad’s Shanta Biotech after the Drugs Controller General of India licensed this. “It is a simple vaccine that can be delivered orally through a syringe. It is well adapted and cost effective as on bulk production, its cost comes down to a dollar per dose,” Clemens pointed out.
“It has been found to be effective in all age groups,” he added.

According to Health Secretary V.M. Katoch, the policymakers’ meeting was a “scientific open forum which debated the various aspects of vaccine and recommended that the health ministry first introduce it in a guided manner in cholera endemic areas of West Bengal and Orissa. “Based on the experience gained, it could be expanded to other areas,” Katoch, who also heads the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), added.

He also pointed out that the vaccine would be recommended as a supplement to conventional tools like safe drinking water and sanitation in the battle against cholera and not its replacement to prevent cholera.

Describing the vaccine as “very innovative”, Ganguly, a former ICMR chief, said it incorporated all the important genes required to make it very selective and more effective without harming the intestines in any way.“It is designed to prevent even severe infections caused by various mutants of the cholera virus,” he added.

According to Clemens, the new vaccine meets international good manufacture practiced and the standards set by the World Health Organisation (WHO).And, with the new vaccine having global applications, India could become one of its four to five manufacturing hubs, Clemens pointed out. Representatives of ICMR, the health ministry, the Department of Biotechnology, the National Institute of Cholera and Enteric Diseases and IVI attended the policymakers’ meeting.

পশ্চিমবঙ্গে লোকসভা আসনের বিধানসভা ভিত্তিক বিন্যাস

১) কোচবিহার (তফঃ) : ২। মাথাভাঙা (তফ:) ৩। কোচবিহার উত্তর (তফ:) ৪। কোচবিহার দক্ষিণ ৫। শীতলকুচি (তফঃ) ৬। সিতাই (তফঃ) ৭। দিনহাটা ৮। নাটাবাড়ি।
২) আলিপুরদুয়ার (তফঃ উপঃ) : ৯। তুফানগঞ্জ ১০। কুমারগ্রাম (তফঃ উপঃ) ১১। কালচিনি (তফঃ উপঃ) ১২। আলিপুরদুয়ার ১৩। ফালাকাটা (তফঃ) ১৪। মাদারিহাট (তফঃ উপঃ) ২১। নাগরাকাটা (তফঃ উপঃ)।
৩) জলপাইগুড়ি (তফঃ) : ১। মেখলিগঞ্জ (তফঃ) ১৫। ধূপগুড়ি (তফঃ) ১৬। ময়নাগুড়ি (তফঃ) ১৭। জলপাইগুড়ি (তফঃ) ১৮। রাজগঞ্জ (তফঃ) ১৯। ডাবগ্রাম-ফুলবাড়ি ২০। মাল (তফঃ)।
৪) দার্জিলিঙ : ২২। কালিম্পঙ ২৩। দার্জিলিঙ ২৪। কার্শিয়াঙ ২৫। মাটিগাড়া-নকশালবাড়ি (তফঃ) ২৬। শিলিগুড়ি ২৭।ফাঁসিদেওয়া (তফঃ উপঃ) ২৮। চোপরা।
৫) রায়গঞ্জ : ২৯। ইসলামপুর ৩০। গোয়ালপোখর ৩১। চাকুলিয়া ৩২। করণদিঘি ৩৩। হেমতাবাদ (তফঃ) ৩৪। কালিয়াগঞ্জ (তফঃ) ৩৫। রায়গঞ্জ।
৬) বালুরঘাট : ৩৬। ইটাহার ৩৭। কুশমাণ্ডি (তফঃ) ৩৮। কুমারগঞ্জ ৩৯। বালুরঘাট ৪০। তপন (তফঃ উপঃ) ৪১। গঙ্গারামপুর (তফঃ) ৪২। হরিরামপুর।
৭) মালদহ উত্তর : ৪৩। হবিবপুর (তফঃ উপঃ) ৪৪। গাজোল (তফঃ) ৪৫।চাঁচল ৪৬। হরিশ্চন্দ্রপুর ৪৭। মালতীপুর ৪৮। রতুয়া ৫০। মালদহ (তফঃ)।
৮) মালদহ দক্ষিণ : ৪৯। মানিকচক ৫১। ইংলিশবাজার ৫২। মোথাবাড়ি ৫৩। সুজাপুর ৫৪। বৈষ্ণবনগর ৫৫। ফরাক্কা ৫৬। সমসেরগঞ্জ।
৯) জঙ্গীপুর : ৫৭। সুতি ৫৮। জঙ্গীপুর ৫৯। রঘুনাথগঞ্জ ৬০। সাগরদিঘি ৬১। লালগোলা ৬৫। নবগ্রাম (তফঃ) ৬৬। খড়গ্রাম (তফঃ)।
১০) বহরমপুর : ৬৭। বড়ঞা (তফঃ) ৬৮। কান্দি ৬৯। ভরতপুর ৭০। রেজিনগর ৭১। বেলডাঙা ৭২। বহরমপুর ৭৪। নওদা।
১১) মুর্শিদাবাদ : ৬২। ভগবানগোলা ৬৩। রানীনগর ৬৪। মুর্শিদাবাদ ৭৩। হরিহরপাড়া ৭৫। ডোমকল ৭৬। জলঙ্গী ৭৭। করিমপুর।
১২) কৃষ্ণনগর : ৭৮। তেহট্ট ৭৯। পলাশীপাড়া ৮০। কালীগঞ্জ ৮১। নাকাশিপাড়া ৮২। চাপড়া ৮৩। কৃষ্ণনগর উত্তর ৮৪। নবদ্বীপ।
১৩) রানাঘাট (তফঃ) : ৮৫। কৃষ্ণনগর দক্ষিণ ৮৬। শান্তিপুর ৮৭। রানাঘাট উত্তর পশ্চিম ৮৮। কৃষ্ণগঞ্জ (তফঃ) ৮৯। রানাঘাট উত্তর পূর্ব (তফঃ) ৯০। রানাঘাট দক্ষিণ (তফঃ) ৯১। চাকদহ।
১৪) বনগাঁ (তফঃ) : ৯২। কল্যাণী (তফঃ) ৯৩। হরিণঘাটা (তফঃ) ৯৪। বাগদা (তফঃ) ৯৫। বনগাঁ উত্তর (তফঃ) ৯৬। বনগাঁ দক্ষিণ (তফঃ) ৯৭। গাইঘাটা (তফঃ) ৯৮। স্বরূপনগর (তফঃ) ।
১৫) বারাকপুর : ১০২। আমডাঙা ১০৩। বীজপুর ১০৪। নৈহাটি ১০৫। ভাটপাড়া ১০৬। জগদ্দল ১০৭। নোয়াপাড়া ১০৮। বারাকপুর।
১৬) দমদম : ১০৯।খড়দহ ১১০। দমদম উত্তর ১১১। পানিহাটি ১১২। কামারহাটি ১১৩। বরানগর ১১৪। দমদম ১১৭। রাজারহাট-গোপালপুর।
১৭) বারাসত : ১০০। হাবড়া ১০১। আশোকনগর ১১৫। রাজারহাট নিউ টাউন ১১৬। বিধাননগর ১১৮। মধ্যমগ্রাম ১১৯। বারাসত ১২০। দেগঙ্গা।
১৮) বসিরহাট : ৯৯। বাদুড়িয়া ১২১। হাড়োয়া ১২২। মিনাখাঁ (তফঃ) ১২৩। সন্দেশখালি (তফঃ উপঃ) ১২৪। বসিরহাট দক্ষিণ ১২৫। বসিরহাট উত্তর ১২৬। হিঙ্গলগঞ্জ (তফঃ)।
১৯) জয়নগর (তফঃ) : ১২৭। গোসাবা (তফঃ) ১২৮। বাসন্তী (তফঃ) ১২৯। কুলতলি (তফঃ) ১৩৬। জয়নগর (তফঃ) ১৩৮। ক্যানিং পশ্চিম (তফঃ) ১৩৯। ক্যানিং পূর্ব ১৪১। মগরাহাট পূর্ব (তফঃ)।

২০) মথুরাপুর (তফঃ) : ১৩০। পাথরপ্রতিমা ১৩১। কাকদ্বীপ ১৩২। সাগর ১৩৩। কুলপি ১৩৪। রায়দিঘি ১৩৫। মন্দিরবাজার (তফঃ) ১৪২। মগরাহাট পশ্চিম।

২১) ডায়মন্ডহারবার : ১৪৩। ডায়মন্ডহারবার ১৪৪। ফলতা ১৪৫। সাতগাছিয়া ১৪৬।বিষ্ণুপুর (তফঃ) ১৫৫। মহেশতলা ১৫৬। বজবজ ১৫৭। মেটিয়াবুরুজ।

২২) যাদবপুর : ১৩৭। বারুইপুর (পূর্ব) ১৪০। বারুইপুর পশ্চিম ১৪৭। সোনারপুর দক্ষিণ ১৪৮। ভাঙড় ১৫০। যাদবপুর ১৫১। সোনারপুর উত্তর ১৫২। টালিগঞ্জ

২৩) কলকাতা দক্ষিণ : ১৪৯। কসবা ১৫৩। বেহালা পূর্ব ১৫৪। বেহালা পশ্চিম ১৫৮। কলকাতা বন্দর ১৫৯। ভবানীপুর ১৬০। রাসবিহারী ১৬১। বালিগঞ্জ।

২৪) কলকাতা উত্তর : ১৬২। চৌরঙ্গী ১৬৩। এন্টালি ১৬৪। বেলেঘাটা ১৬৫। জোড়াসাঁকো ১৬৬। শ্যামপুকুর ১৬৭। মানিকতলা ১৬৮। কাশীপুর-বেলগাছিয়া।

২৫) হাওড়া : ১৬৯। বালি ১৭০। হাওড়া উত্তর ১৭১। হাওড়া মধ্য ১৭২। শিবপুর ১৭৩। হাওড়া দক্ষিণ ১৭৪। সাঁকরাইল (তফঃ) ১৭৫। পাঁচলা।

২৬) উলুবেড়েড়িয়া : ১৭৬। উলুবেড়িয়া পূর্ব ১৭৭। উলুবেড়িয়া উত্তর (তফঃ) ১৭৮। উলুবেড়িয়া দক্ষিণ ১৭৯। শ্যামপুর ১৮০। বাগনান ১৮১। আমতা ১৮২। উদয়নারায়নপুর।

২৭) শ্রীরামপুর : ১৮৩। জগৎবল্লভপুর ১৮৪। ডোমজুড় ১৮৫। উত্তরপাড়া ১৮৬। শ্রীরামপুর ১৮৭। চাঁপদানি ১৯৪। চন্ডীতলা ১৯৫। জাঙ্গীপাড়া।

২৮) হুগলী : ১৮৮। সিঙ্গুর ১৮৯। চন্দননগর ১৯০। চুঁচুড়া ১৯১। বলাগড় (তফঃ) ১৯২। পান্ডুয়া ১৯৩। সপ্তগ্রাম ১৯৭। ধনিয়াখালি (তফঃ)।

২৯) আরামবাগ (তফঃ) : ১৯৬। হরিপাল ১৯৮। তারকেশ্বর ১৯৯। পুরশুড়া ২০০। আরামবাগ (তফঃ) ২০১। গোঘাট (তফঃ) ২০২। খানাকুল ২৩২। চন্দ্রকোনা (তফঃ)।

৩০) তমলুক : ২০৩। তমলুক ২০৪। পাঁশকুড়া পূর্ব ২০৬। ময়না ২০৭। নন্দকুমার ২০৮। মহিষাদল ২০৯। হলদিয়া (তফঃ) ২১০। নন্দীগ্রাম।

৩১) কাঁথি : ২১১। চন্ডীপুর ২১২। পটাশপুর ২১৩। কাঁথি উত্তর ২১৪। ভগবানপুর ২১৫। খেজুরি (তফঃ) ২১৬। কাঁথি দক্ষিণ ২১৭। রামনগর।

৩২) ঘাটাল : ২০৫।পাঁশকুড়া পশ্চিম ২২৬। সবং ২২৭। পিংলা ২২৯। ডেবরা ২৩০। দাসপুর ২৩১। ঘাটাল (তফঃ) ২৩৫। কেশপুর (তফঃ)।

৩৩) ঝাড়গ্রাম (তফঃ উপঃ) : ২২০। নয়াগ্রাম (তফঃ উপঃ) ২২১। গোপীবল্লভপুর ২২২। ঝাড়গ্রাম ২৩৩। গড়বেতা ২৩৪। শালবনী ২৩৭। বীনপুর (তফঃ উপঃ) ২৩৮। বান্দোয়ান (তফঃ উপঃ)।

৩৪) মেদিনীপুর : ২১৮। এগরা ২১৯। দাঁতন ২২৩। কেশিয়াড়ি (তফঃ উপঃ) ২২৪। খড়্গপুর সদর ২২৫। নারায়নগড় ২২৮। খড়্গপুর ২৩৬। মেদিনীপুর।

৩৫) পুরুলিয়া : ২৩৯। বলরামপুর ২৪০। বাগমুন্ডি ২৪১। জয়পুর ২৪২। পুরুলিয়া ২৪৩। মানবাজার (তফঃ উপঃ) ২৪৪। কাশীপুর ২৪৫। পারা (তফঃ)।

৩৬) বাঁকুড়া : ২৪৬।রঘুনাথপুর (তফঃ) ২৪৭। শালতোড়া (তফঃ) ২৪৮।ছাতনা ২৪৯। রানীবাঁধ (তফঃ উপঃ) ২৫০। রাইপুর (তফঃ উপঃ) ২৫১। তালডাংরা ২৫২। বাঁকুড়া।

৩৭) বিষ্ণুপুর (তফঃ) : ২৫৩। বড়জোড়া ২৫৪। ওন্দা ২৫৫। বিষ্ণুপুর ২৫৬। কোতুলপুর (তফঃ) ২৫৭। ইন্দাস (তফঃ) ২৫৮। সোনামুখি (তফঃ) ২৫৯। খন্ডঘোষ (তফঃ)।

৩৮)বর্ধমান পূর্ব (তফঃ) : ২৬১। রায়না (তফঃ) ২৬২। জামালপুর (তফঃ) ২৬৪। কালনা (তফঃ) ২৬৫। মেমারি ২৬৮। পূর্বস্থলী দক্ষিণ ২৬৯। পূর্বস্থলী উত্তর ২৭০। কাটোয়া।

৩৯) বর্ধমান-দুর্গাপুর : ২৬০। বর্ধমান দক্ষিণ ২৬৩। মন্তেশ্বর ২৬৬। বর্ধমান উত্তর (তফঃ) ২৬৭। ভাতার ২৭৪। গলসী (তফঃ) ২৭৬। দুর্গাপুর পূর্ব ২৭৭। দুর্গাপুর পশ্চিম।

৪০) আসানসোল : ২৭৫। পান্ডবেশ্বর ২৭৮। রানীগঞ্জ ২৭৯। জামুরিয়া ২৮০। আসানসোল দক্ষিণ ২৮১। আসানসোল উত্তর ২৮২। কুলটি ২৮৩। বরাবনি।

৪১) বোলপুর (তফঃ) : ২৭১। কেতুগ্রাম ২৭২। মঙ্গলকোট ২৭৩। আউসগ্রাম (তফঃ) ২৮৬। বোলপুর ২৮৭। নানুর (তফঃ) ২৮৮। লাভপুর ২৯০। ময়ূরেশ্বর।

৪২) বীরভূম : ২৮৪। দুবরাজপুর (তফঃ) ২৮৫। সিউড়ি ২৮৯। সাঁইথিয়া (তফঃ) ২৯১। রামপুরহাট ২৯২। হাঁসন ২৯৩। নলহাটি ২৯৪।মুরারই।

CPI(M) Memorandum to EC on Darjeeling

New Delhi, April 7, 2009: Shri Sitaram Yechury, member, Polit Bureau of CPI(M) and Shri Nilotpal Basu, member, Central Secretariat of CPI(M) met the Election Commission today and submitted a memorandum.The copy of the memorandum presented on the serious situation in the three hill sub-divisions of the Darjeeling Parliament Constituency in West Bengal and the need for creating an appropriate atmosphere for the holding of free and fair elections, is given below:

April 7, 2009

To

The Election Commission of India

Nirvachan Sadan

Ashoka Road,

New Delhi

Dear Sir,

With a great sense of concern and anguish, we would like to draw your attention to the abnormal situation prevailing in the 4-Darjeeling Parliament constituency in the state of West Bengal where the right of Left Front nominated CPI(M) candidate Shri Jibesh Sarkar is being undermined by the terror unleashed by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM). At the outset, we would give you the background of the present situation. In three hill sub-divisions viz Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong which fall under 4-Darjeeling Parliamentary Constituency, it is the GJM which is dominating physically with force and violence pursuing the separatist slogan of Gorkhaland. The GJM is playing havoc by not allowing other parties, particularly the CPI(M) to campaign in those hill areas. Our Party have, time and again, informed the Election Commission, Chief Election Officer, West Bengal, District Election Officer and other law enforcing authorities about the prevailing situation, despite that no perceptible improvement is there in the ground level condition.The summary of the situation can be described as follows: 1.Our activists are not being allowed to move freely in their own areas, not to speak of campaigning for the election2.Those activists and supporters of the Party who attend the meetings are threatened and social boycott is enforced through the crude use of force and violence in the localities3.CPI(M) Party district office was forced to be closed down earlier on 27th March when our candidate Shri Jibesh Sarkar went to Darjeeling for meeting the voters. He was forced to withdraw from the area and the Party leadership was kept gheraoed for a long time inside the Party office.4.Our festoons and hoardings were not allowed to demonstrate in different areas of Hills and the foot hills as well by the gangs of the Morcha5.The GJM is also threatening the Tibetan, Muslim and other minority communities with dire consequences if they do not vote for the Morcha-supported candidate. This complaint has also been lodged with the All India Minority Commission which is an independent constitutional body.In the background of all these, we urge the Commission to take it up with the CEO of West Bengal and other concerned authorities to ensure that an appropriate atmosphere for a free and fair election is created in the three assembly segments of Darjeeling, Kurseong and Kalimpong assembly segments of the 4-Darjeeling Parliament constituency. We strongly feel that the security arrangement should not only been ensured for the polling day but for the entire period of campaign in the run up to the elections. We particularly draw your attention to the need for ensuring the safety and security of our candidate and our activists and sympathisers during this campaign period. We also urge strong action be initiated against Shri Bimal Gurung, the GJM supremo for his vitriolic speech intimidating the minorities like Tibetans and Muslims (content is part of the CD placed in the annexure). We also request you to ensure that official meetings for the constituency in which representatives of political parties have to attend are held in Siliguri instead of Darjeeling. We also urge you that the counting of votes should take place in Darjeeling, Siliguri and Islampur as in the past. In the event of the counting for all the Assembly segments centrally at one place, we would like to suggest that it should be held in Siliguri and not in Darjeeling. Our apprehension is that it is not possible to hold the counting in a normal and peaceful atmosphere in Darjeeling. We are hereby appending all relevant past communications, as well as, written and video material to substantiate our contention.

(Sitaram Yechury)
Member, Polit Bureau,

(Nilotpal Basu)
Member, Central Secretariat

Chemical hub at Nayachar in Bengal gets official clearance

KOLKATA, 7th April: The Centre has given the nod to the Petrochemicals, Chemicals and Petroleum Industries Region (PCPIR) project in Nayachar in East Medinipur in West Bengal, State Industry Secretary Sabyasachi Sen said here on Monday.

Talking to journalists here, he said a separate authority would have to be set up for implementing the project. The Centre is now expected to send the draft memorandum of agreement, which will have to be entered into between the Union Chemicals and Fertilizer Ministry and the State Government.

The meeting was taken by West Bengal Chief Secretary A. M. Chakraborty and attended by the Planning Department Secretary Jaya Dasgupta and the Chairman and Deputy-Chairman of the Kolkata Port Trust and the Haldia Dock Complex (HDC).

Mr. Sen said the project would come up on 204.1 sq. km. of land with the Centre helping set up the infrastructure. The State Government would set up power, drainage and other related infrastructure and. IOC is likely to be the anchor investor setting up a refinery.Mr. Sen also said the navigability of the HDC was also discussed at the meeting.

CII chief, Buddha to meet on West Bengal image revamp

Kolkata April 07, 2009: Venu Srinivasan, the newly appointed CII president will meet West Bengal chief minister, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, today to discuss issues related to allowing contract farming in a state that is opposed to such a practice now.The Left Front government in West Bengal does not allow contract farming by multinationals in the state.

“We are keen to work with West Bengal to promote its image among other states and also bring back the manufacturing industry in the state. We will also advice the chief minister to allow private sector investments in agriculture”, Srinivsasan said addressing the press here.

Jyoti Basu regrets not participating in poll campaign

Kolkata, April 6: Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) patriarch Jyoti Basu Monday regretted not being able to participate in the election campaign for the Left Front in West Bengal, saying he was “physically unfit” to do so.“This time I could do nothing for the Left Front as I have become physically unfit to participate in poll campaign,” Basu told reporters at his Salt Lake residence here, while launching a website for Laxman Seth, the CPI-M candidate from Tamluk Lok Sabha seat.

“I came to know from Left Front chairman Biman Bose that our party cadres are working hard across the state so that our candidates can win in the election,” the veteran leader said.“We have to carry on with the victorious legacy of the Left Front in this April-May elections also. I wish that Left Front candidates would win in the coming general election,” Basu added.

VILLAGERS RESIST, CHASE AWAY TRINAMULIS, ‘MAOISTS’ FROM LALGARH AREA

LALGARH: ‘Enough is enough’ is the outlook of the heavily angered but usually peaceable villagers of and around the area of Lalgarh. This is what we found recently when talking to them in the aftermath of a successful mass and unarmed confrontation the villagers courageously offered to the incursing-- and invading-- armed Trinamulis and ‘Maoists.’ The latter had come to ‘make assurance doubly sure’ about killing off and in public view a CPI (M) local-level leader, a mine blast on whom had earlier failed as already reported.

The target was of course the extremely popular CPI (M) local committee leader of Belatikari and AIKS activist Chandi Karan. The village he inhabits abuts the Lalgarh zone from where the ‘Maoists’ issue diktats in secret to their running mates elsewhere in the state.

Deep into the night of 7-8 April, two groups 20 trained gunmen of the CP (Maoist) in fake but realistic army fatigues, black scarves and all, and carrying the latest short-barrelled, glass-fibre stock-and-handles, quick firing SLRs available, at a high cost, in the arms’ bazaar, outside of the country, and backed by a dozen-odd Trinamulis carrying sharp and cutting weapons, surrounded the hutment of Chandi, kicked down the flimsy bamboo-and-wood door, and started shooting. Their great mistake was that this time around they did not have the very effective silencers screwed onto the barrels.

Aroused, the villagers, rotating groups of whom wielding well-oiled bamboo staves do the night watch following the earlier attack on the village and on Chandi Karan, came rushing in, faced and not fled from the hail of fire that was let loose by the panic-struck ‘Maoists,’ the Trinamulis chose discretion to be the better part of valour and ran away leaving behind frustration as well as their chappals.

The fact of the ever-growing presence of lathi-wielding villagers whose number had quickly exceeded several hundreds made the ‘Maoists’, too, play ‘follow the leader’ game, and they, emulating the Trinamulis, in a show of great non-political solidarity, chose to scoot, with a only barrage of fire as they retreated preventing the villagers from approaching them at close quarters – except in the case of two of the insidious invaders who, new to the topography, stumbled, fell, and felt a huge crowd of villagers pile up on them.

The two named Haradhan Dulé and Dayal Dulé were however not beaten up, although we are told several young men were ready for ‘mixing it’ well, and the two were duly handed over to the police when the latter came after sunrise. We believe that after being taken into protective custody at Chandi’s house, even a bit of tea-and-biscuit hospitality was given to the two ‘Maoists’ which we thought was a very Communist-like humanitarian gesture.
[811 words]

How did the ‘Maoists’ preferred to return the gesture? They chose that very night to flag down at random a truck carrying cut-pieces of bound piles of bamboo sticks near the Lalgarh-Salboni zone, put the truck to the flames by tossing a couple of grenades, and then beat the driver and the helper to an inch of death, indeed leaving them for dead. The two were found by kisans taking the first plough to the fields with the break of the day, and the unconscious duo were shifted in very, very critical condition to nearby health centres, and both nursing deep head wounds.

That was not all. The ‘Maoists’ then raided the remote village of Bejdanga deep into the jungle mahal near Sarenga in Bankura at a stone’s throw distance from Lalgarh, picked up at random 10 young men aged from as young as 5 years and averaging 30 years, beat them up with gun butts and a ‘squad’ of ‘Maoists’ stood impassively on guard, sten guns at the ready-- and as the raiders bound the 10 villagers up and took them away they asked the villagers to ‘take a good look’ at their near-and-dear ones for ‘we are not going to return them alive.’

The hapless captives fearing the worst were then taken to the far side of Lalgarh known to be an underground ‘Maoist’ den, and help captive for ten hours, the captors depriving them of not merely food and water but also forcibly making them sit on their haunches tied hand-and-foot. To avoid political retaliation, the police and the district administration opened a dialogue with those who represent the ‘Maoists’ in the area and after a pour-parler that lasted for hours together, the ten were released, and they reached their village, each carrying several deep wounds on their bodies and heads, and each shook up mentally.

Biman Basu, state secretary of the CPI (M) has condemned the incidents of attack and of hostage-taking and has called for a political response to the Maoists through ever greater mass mobilization in the area and elsewhere.

BIMAN BASU ON PRANAB MUKHERJEE'S 'REPORT CARD ON BENGAL'

KOLKATA, 6TH APRIL: The desperate attempts of Pradesh Congress chief Pranab Mukherjee recently to ‘prove’ that Bengal was in bad straits were effectively nailed on 6 April by Left Front chairman and senior CPI (M) leader Biman Basu. Biman Basu said that Mukherjee was fanciful with the truth when he addressed the media with facts that were concocted. Biman quoted reports of the UN and of central government’s agencies to nail Mukherjee’s arguments.

Biman started off by saying that lying about Bengal under the Left Front was not something that was new or surprising. This has happened in the past repeatedly, and every time the attempts were found as based on falsification of the reality. Biman reminded the media that in February earlier this year Mukherjee while in Bengal had heaped praises on the Bengal government for the ‘vast improvement’ in health care, and the progress made in rural development especially in terns of rural employment generation.

In Delhi, Mukherjee accused the LF government with the ‘fact’ that the rate of malnutrition and anaemia amongst women in Bengal was very high. UN and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in a joint report have stated that in India itself more that 50% women suffered from anaemia and that so did 75% of the children. The states where anaemia amongst women and children has increased recently are all non-Left-ruled states, viz., Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. The highest growth from 51% to 54% is in Andhra Pradesh.

Responding to Mukherjee’s allegation that Bengal has the highest indices in hunger and malnutrition, the CPI (M) leader pointed out that according to the report published by the FAO, 21% of the people of India suffers from hunger and malnutrition. IFPRI states that of the 88 developing countries, India holds the 66th position in terms of hunger reaching a dangerous level. The figure shows that even poorer sub-Saharan African nations fare better than ‘incredible’ India. Of the states where such dangerous hunger levels exist are all non-Left rules states like Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, and Jharkhand.

In relevance, Biman mentioned the fact acknowledged by the government that Mukherjee serves as the foreign minister that the rate of neo-natal death in India is 55% compared to 37% in Bengal. In the country, the number of Primary Health centres (PHC) has gone down by 3% between 2002 and 2007. Only 13% of the target PHC figure mentioned in the 10th Plan could be reached. Of one thousand rural patients, 583 are forced to seek the aid of private sector health institutions. In Bengal 786 out of one thousand patients go to government hospitals when they fall ill. In Indian urban areas, 383 out of one thousand patients can have access to government health institutions whereas in Bengal the figure stands at 658.

Mukherjee has also been a purveyor of the untruth as far as employment is concerned. Contrary to what the Congress leader has said the rate of rural employment in Bengal is greater than the national average. Those below the poverty line comprised nearly 74% of the population in 1973-1974. The figure now stands at just over 28% (2004-2005). In the same period, urban poverty has gone down from 34.7% to 14.7%. The 11th Plan document states that poverty has increased most in such non-Left-ruled states as Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar. All the figures concerning poverty are underwritten by the UNO.

Mukherjee has also been fanciful with his figure work as far as education is concerned, noted Biman Basu. Quoting figures out of context, Mukherjee has sought desperately to prove that there was ‘big’ number of school-drop-outs in Bengal. The drop-out rate, one of the most welcome aspects of the progress made in Bengal in the realm of education under the LF government is just over 8% between classes V and VIII. The rate gets lower every year. The NCERT itself can be quoted to refute Mukherjee’s comments on the school education scene in Bengal. The NCERT report states that in recent years the rate of successful candidature in school examination is among the highest in the country, much above the national average.

Biman concluded by saying that while lambasting Bengal’s development, Mukherjee would not for reasons not difficult to guess bring up two issues: land reforms and rate of growth in agriculture. Bengal tops the list in both cases nationwide.