Leftist peasants forums meet Buddhadeb on drought issue

09:09 PM, Sep 15, 2010

 

Kolkata, Sep 15 (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee was today urged to approach the Centre to declare the 11-drought affected districts as a 'national disaster'."A six-point charter of demands have been placed before the CM in the interest of farmers in 11 affected districts in the state," president of CPI(M) peasants' forum Pashimbanga Pradeshik Krishaksabha Madan Ghosh said.

The chief minister was also urged to waive crop loans for the khariff season, besides extending loans to farmers for the next crop at 4 per cent interest.Regretting that the state government had received only Rs 170 crore against an allocation of Rs 1400 crore from the Centre under National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS), the forum demanded that the Centre release the remainder immediately.It also urged the state government to create more water bodies through panchayat departments in the affected districts, besides supplying the farmers with better quality seeds.The chief minister also elaborated on steps taken by the state government to overcome the drought situation, Ghosh said.

BENGAL AIKS CALLS FOR AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND INDUSTRIAL GROWTH

GENERATION OF EMPLOYMENT IS A CORE AGENDUM

KOLKATA(INN):In its three-day meet at Burdwan Township in the district of Burdwan, Bengal’s rice bowl, the state unit of the AIKS called for agricultural growth at a faster pace. It also heralded a call for industrial growth. Both agenda looked at increased figures of per capita employment as part of the pro-poor developmental perspective of the CPI (M), the Left Front and the Bengal LF government.

The open rally was a ‘mere’ assemblage of six lakh for the district membership of the AIKS itself exceeds 25 lakh. Lest my friends in the corporate media, sorely disappointed at the recent turn of political events in Bengal (more of which in a separate article), jump in glee with both feet in, and label the conference a boycott by the district AIKS, we may hastily posit that only the leadership level cadres were rallied on the occasion. The reason why is to be found in that ever elusive thing in Burdwan – open, uncultivated space.

The final choice fell on a broad swathe of a kilometre-long sandhead on the shores of the now quiescent but otherwise torrential river Damodar, an area of hard-packed gravel that could accommodate but five-odd lakh of people. That an additional one lakh turned up did not quite leave the question dangling of any disciplinary action. The all-India AIKS leadership present was overwhelmed at the response – that was the outcome of strong political drive for, and relentless organisational dedication to the cause of social change.

In an attractive speech delivered in simple but evocative language, Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that a challenge faced Bengal. The challenge comprise making the stat come to the very fore of the country’s states in terms of development of agriculture, industry, education, and health. Buddhadeb was full of praises for the Bengal AIKS for the role it had emoted right from the days of the nation’s freedom struggle to stand by the side of and lead the kisan, the humble tiller of the earth, organising them into a weapon of social change.

The concluding part of the speech of the CPI (M) Polit Bureau member basically dwelt on the land reforms movement and the role of the AIKS in assisting the two UF governments of the late 1960s and then of the Left Front government from 1977 in the process of redistributing land made khas by the political will of the Bengal administration. The lone statistics he mentioned was this, telling as it was in its impact: more than 84% of the 1.35 lakh agricultural land of Bengal belonged to poor and marginal farmers. The state also leads the list in production of rice paddy, vegetables, and jute.

All-India AIKS leader K Varadarajan detailed the horrific picture of the condition of the kisan and of the agrarian scene at the national plane. He reminded the massive assemblage that the AIKS had prevailed upon the central government not to go in for a policy of liberalisation fifteen years ago – and the advice was just put in the back burner. There was collective sigh from the rally when the AIKS leader pronounced that until date, no less than 1.75 lakh desperate kisans, thrashing about in the pangs of abject poverty had preferred either to swallow pesticides or to hang themselves. Was the central government moved by this? No, has been the answer until today, assured Varadarajan. The causes of the mass suicide were market orientation of commodities, lack of good procurement prices, want for viable loan components, and the credit entrapment by the sahukars and the mahajans among others.

Polit Bureau member of the CPI (M) Nirupam Sen who dwelt on the imperatives of pro-employment industrialisation, and veteran AIKS leader Benoy Konar who spoke feelingly on the ‘two nations existing within one nation, the rich and the poor segments,’ also addressed the gathering.

In the wake of the delegate session where there were 525 delegates and observers out of a total of several crore of AIKS membership, a new leadership was elected. Madan Ghosh is the president, Tarun Roy is the secretary, and Achintya Roy is the treasurer of the Bengal unit of the All-India Kisan Sabha.

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE CONFERENCE:

1.Condolence resolution
2.Struggle against imperialism, terrorism, religious fundamentalism, and separatism
3.Against anarchic attempts to crate chaos in Bengal
4.Industrialisation for the interest of the kisans themselves
5.Organising the khet mazdoor struggles in a multifarious stream of movements
6.Against river erosion, and in favour of extension of irrigation
7.Early completion of the Teesta scheme
8.Early implementation of the Subarnarekha river bund project
9.Strengthening the AIKS and the kisan movement farther
10.Augmenting and accelerating the cooperative and the self-help movements
11.Build up each Panchayat as a Red bastion for the safeguarding of democracy
12.Defend and secure the right of the forest dwellers and forest resources
13.Against the Israeli attack on the Gaza strip and against Palestinian people in general
14.In demand of accelerated process of rural electrification
15.Onwards to the Lok Sabha election coming up

ON THE ABANDONMENT OF THE SINGUR PROJECT

A Bengal AIKS Document

All India Kisan Council condemns the disruptive and violent activities of Trinamul Congress led anti-LF combine in West Bengal that forced withdrawal of Tata Motors Ltd (TML) from Singur after 85% of work in the small car factory had been completed. It may be recalled that the agreement between WB Government and Tata Motors Ltd on setting up the cheapest car manufacturing industry in the world was signed on 9th March, 2007 and details of the conditions of agreement were reported to the State Assembly within one week on 15th March, 2007 and text of agreement had been finally been put on the website on behalf of the government.

Only 997 acres of land was given on lease TML and 55 ancillary units against their demand of 1100 acres and on estimated requirement of 1280 acres going by the standard prescribed by NATRIP ( National Automotive Testing and R&D infrastructure Project), a Central Government Undertaking specialised in this job. This can be compared with quantum of land under occupation of comparable factories elsewhere in the country i.e. Maruti of Gurgaon – 1250 acres, Tata Motors at Pune 1100 acres, Mahindra and Mahindra at Mumbai – 1060 acres etc. The land acquired for this purpose was mostly mono-crop and waterlogged and compensation over 160% of market value was paid to the land-losers.

The legality of the procedure was upheld by Calcutta High Court. 10852 out of 13103 land losers i.e. 82.8 % had already voluntarily taken their compensation in spite of threat intimidation of TMC, SUCI, Naxalite groups. They did not attend any of the All Party meetings convened at the districts or state –level and finally declared to start indefinite Dharna from 24th August, 2008 demanding return of 400 acres of lands from the project site where construction has already taken place though only 167 acres of belong to the landlosers, who had not taken compensation.

Ms Mamata Banerjee refused to sit with CM who had written two letters inviting her for discussion for an amicable solution; she also refused to respond to Tata’s letter offering their readiness to discuss the issue. She of course, sent a team of TMC, SUCI, Naxalite etc. leaded by the leader of opposition on 20th August which assured CM and Industry Minister to continue discussion, submit a list of so-called ‘unwilling farmers,’ demanding return of land and maintain peace at the site of dharna.

All these assurances were blatantly violated, and Mamata with aid and abetment from a section of the Naxalites, the SUCI, the Samajwadi Party general secretary Amar Singh, Anuradha Talwarkar, Medha Patkar, and such like minded people made provocative speeches from dharna manch, indulging an illegal blockade of the National Highway (NH) 6. Their followers resorted wantonly to intimidation and violence on the workers, engineers, and security and media persons, finally forcing them to suspend their work temporarily and withdraw from the work site.

Police and local LF workers showed utmost restraint and foiled their every effort to provoke a bloodbath so that they could cash in on any eventuality of casualty including mortality. However, increasingly, the popular opinion started to fulminate against her manoeuvrings of these lowly kinds. This development compelled her to approach the Governor of Bengal for what can be termed a ‘bail-out.’ She also agreed to discuss the issue emerging out of the Singur impasse with the state LF government with participatory presence of the Bengal Governor as, so he himself claimed, a ‘facilitator.’

After a two-day-long discussion with ministers of the LF government whose ranks included the industries minister Nirupam Sen and the Panchayat minister Surjya Mishra, there was a one-day worth of dialogue between Mamata Banerjee and Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. An agreement was finally produced on 7 September 2008 and the dharna was withdrawn.

However, as is her wont, very soon after the meetings, Mamata Banerjee while briefing the media at Raj Bhavan itself iterated the demand of 400 acres of land to be given from within the perimeter of the project area itself, thus completely ignoring the instrument of agreement signed. Bengal chief minister launched another initiative on 12 September to have another round frank parley with the leader of the main opposition party. This discussion did take place and here the chief minister placed a comprehensive compensation-rehabilitation package that brought within it beneficent ambit a wide cross-section of the people of the area.

This package offered seventy acres of land within project area for an economic rehabilitation of the land losers. An additional component of 50% as compensation was provided to the land losers as well the bargadars in cash value for the land acquired. An assurance was set in place for guarantee of employment of one person per family of land losers provided of course that there were none in the family employed. 300 days’ worth of work was pledged for the khet mazdoors and unrecorded bargadars. This was topped by a comprehensive development programme of the affected area.

Mamata Banerjee not unexpectedly turned down the package on offer. The state LF government had no other alternative, thus, left but to air the package in the dailies on 14 September. The Bengal Left Front organised a massive rally at Singur that drew lakhs of people on 15 September in support of the package.

The next day, Mamata Banerjee and her cohorts held a meeting of around a thousand-odd people (also at Singur) and opposed the package. The state LF government convened an all-party meeting on 30 September, which was boycotted, by the TMC and the SUCI. Congress did attend the meeting but preferred to emote a dubious position, virtually encouraging the disruptive role of the Trinamuli combine.

It is against this background as a whole that Shri Ratan Tata finally declared the decision to move out of Bengal and relocate the small car Nano project elsewhere despite the comprehensive assurance of support given and expressed by the state LF government. Shri Tata squarely blamed Mamata Banerjee for the disruptive activities that compelled him to withdraw from Singur and Bengal. He also hinted at the support given to her by some corporate houses. Presently, Mamata Banerjee has issued a call for a march onto the Kolkata Police HQ at Lal Bazar, to be followed by a rush on the Writers’ Buildings, clearly the aim being to precipitate disorder through gratuitous violence.

The Bengal unit of the AIKS was in the midst of campaign throughout this period, and it has taken up a detailed programme intense campaign following Tata’s withdrawal. The programme includes interactive meetings with the people in every village, responding to questions the villagers will prefer to put up. The AIKS shall rally the peasantry in their entirety and other sections of the democratic masses in the struggle against the reactionary combine disrupting every effort at industrialisation and such other developmental activities as construction of roads, power stations, and irrigation projects etc.

The Kisan Sabha has also taken up a campaign-movement for implementation of the Tribal Forest Act, NREGA, Sarba Siksha and Sarba Swasthya Avijan, SHG movement, and programmes relating to the increase of production and productivity in agriculture as well as all issues involving the peasantry, with jathas culminating in rallies to be held in every district in November.

The AIKS coveys its solidarity to the Bengal peasantry in this struggle and firmly resolves to take up the campaign all over the country as well.

West Bengal opposition’s anti-industry stand decried

October 16th, 2008 - 12:29 am

Kolkata, Oct 15 (IANS): Supporting the industrial drive of the ruling Left Front government in West Bengal, the All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) - the peasants’ wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) - Wednesday slammed the opposition parties for agitating against the economic development of the state.”We strongly condemn the stand of some political parties that are opposing the industrial progress of the state. Industry is important in terms of bringing economic reforms in our society,” AIKS state secretary Samar Baora told IANS.

He said the front would carry out a nationwide campaign from November, protesting the anti-people policies of the central government.

“We’ll inform people about the importance of industrial development in our country. We’ll also tell them about the recent economic crisis also,” Baora said as a two-day national conference of AIKS concluded here Wednesday.

“Some opposition political forces are trying to hinder the economic growth of West Bengal. On behalf of the AIKS West Bengal state committee, we are conducting several interactive sessions at the district level to inform people about the significance of industries in our state.

Automobile major Tata Motors had relocated their small car plant in Singur to Gujarat following relentless protests by West Bengal Opposition Leader Mamata Banerjee. Tata Motors Oct 3 announced it was pulling out its Nano project from the troubled Singur region and blamed Banerjee for the “regretful” decision. “All AIKS state committees would observe a weeklong agitation in their respective regions, protesting issues like the agricultural crisis and anti-people policies of the union government,” said Baora, who is also the All India joint secretary of AIKS.