Palash Biswas
(contact : c/o Mrs Arti Roy, Gosto Kanan, Sodepur, Kolkata-700110,
India. Phone:033-25659551 R)
No doubt, the land in singur will be handed over the Tatas for Tata
Motors. The ruling left front rode over the ideological hitch within
the party and the government. The government and party machinery is
well geared to crush any opposition at any level. Ms Mamta Bannerjee
could not stop Salem Group to enter Bengal with her all dramatic
ploys. She failed to stall land transfer in Bhangar, rajarhat and
elsewhere. Media supports the capitalist progress propoganda of the
communist Chief minister and ideology is well set aside.Mamata is
never as per good to create public opinion at any stage of her
political life. Whatever sypathy she captured is out of order with
constant repeatation of her old ploys and gimmicks. she has lost the
faith of people and her political credibility, too.It has been well
portrayed in last loksabha and Assembelly elections.Now having sieged
singur unsuccessfully to stopcheque distribution, beaten and packed
to kolkata mercilessly by police she has landed in a private Nursing
Home, BeleView, complaing breathing trouble after two days of dharna,
rail roko and procession all failed to create any mentionable public
response. Congress supported her agitation and already retreated
bowing to the compulsion of running a coaliation government at the
centre supported by always threatening and dictating Left.
It is also evident that the Singur movement, woven around the
proposed Tata Motors project, has started to lose its emotive appeal
after the Opposition leaders were forced to have the protest venue
shifted from Singur to Calcutta. But as the deal is finalised, the
intention to launch such an unfruitful movement is surrounded by
doubt. The opposition is eager to defend the peasntry, it is not
proved at all. Rather every opposition icon including Mamta seems to
ensure maximum media fottage. The peasants are asking while
everything is finalised, why the opposition is trying to stall their
payment.
Left has painted well mamta as anti development icon, thanks to
widespread media coverage. Tatas has threatened to leave bengal and
go to Uttaranchal with thier Motors Project. It has triggered the
panic button and Mamata is isolated once again. The Cpim state
secretary, however, said the front would stand united against the
Opposition-sponsored bandh on October 9.
It made no significant difference at all as after five years, senior
Congress leaders shared the dais with Mamata today and announced a
series of protests against the police action in Singur to dislodge
Trinamul Congress supporters who had laid siege to the block office
against land acquisition. "Let's make it clear, we have nothing
against Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee's industrialisation programme, or the
Tatas' small-car project," Union information and broadcasting
minister Priya Ranjan Das Munshi said. "Ratan Tata is an ideal
industrialist. We would like to have him here," he added. Though
Congress leaders such as Somen Mitra, Subrata Mukherjee and Sudip
Bandopadhyay urged the government to structure an all-party
initiative and "take us (the Opposition) into confidence".
Monday's siege of the Singur BDO's office by the Trinamul is the
second major fiasco the government has had to contend with in the
march towards industrialisation. It comes four months after the Tata
Motors delegation ~ invited to the area in the heady aftermath of the
electoral victory ~ was turned away by the peasantry.A sobbing Mamata
Banerjee called off her sit-in and hunger strike, which shifted venue
from Singur to the city past midnight 25 th Sept., following
cellphone conversations with Congress leaders in Delhi and an
emotional tête-à-tête with former party colleague Priya Ranjan Das
Munshi."I withdrew today's dharna after Union home minister Shivraj
Patil's assurance that he would have the matter looked into," Mamata
said before leaving the Gandhi statue on Mayo Road under which she
had been squatting since being bodily lifted out of Singur by police.
The ideolgy and the issues hang in air without any answer.
As the Buddha proclaimed like Jesus — "Father, forgive them for they
know not what they do", or a variation of it — not everyone seemed to
be in a merciful mood. Tata Motors managing director Ravi Kant said
from Pune that if Bengal could not provide the land by the end of
this year, the company could look at locations elsewhere.On paper,
the administration handed over the land, about 1,000 acres, to the
West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC), the agency
that, in turn, will transfer it to the Tatas. But the process can
only be said to have been completed when possession is taken.Kant
said the company was under tremendous pressure to meet the deadline
to bring the Rs 1-lakh car to the market by 2008.He said land should
have been handed over by now whereas the Bengal government expects to
wrap up the acquisition after the Pujas. That is quick by any
standards because the process started only about two months ago.
The threat would have struck Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee like a sharp
nail at other times but, with Mamata Banerjee hitting the warpath
over land acquisition in Singur where the Tata factory is to come up,
it will be more like a hammer blow. When asked in Writers' Buildings
if the Mamata-led agitation suggested that the Opposition did not
wish Bengal to develop, the chief minister forgave them using Jesus's
words.Addressing the concerns about farmers losing their occupation
in the context of this agitation, Tata Motors promised to "do more in
Bengal than anywhere else" by way of corporate social responsibility.
Sonia Gandhi's Congress today sought to project itself as a
responsible Opposition party in Bengal as it rolled out the welcome
mat for Ratan Tata and his proposed car project in Singur.While
rallying behind Mamata Banerjee in her bid to get
Under the schemes, a two-week programme will be started for early
dropouts to train them in non-skilled jobs like gardening. Tata
Motors will also help set up a cooperative for women for tailoring.
It is only the Left front in West Bengal which has made serious
efforts to implement a land reform programme. This has also resulted
in a big boost to farm production contrary to the neo-liberalisers
who say that only big farms can insure higher productivity. West
Bengal is the highest producer of rice and vegetables, the second
highest in potato production and the highest in the production of
fish.
The central feature of land reform under the Left Front regime has
been the acquisition of surplus or benami land and distributing it
amongst the landless. The total land vested in West Bengal in the
last 25 years is 13.37 lakh acres, out of which 10.63 lakh acres have
been distributed. A large majority of the beneficiaries belong to
scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other oppressed castes and the
landless sections among the minorities. West Bengal also holds the
record in distribution of joint pattas of land in the name of both
the woman and the man, with approximately 4 lakh joint pattas and
another 80,000 pattas to single women.
Since the Land Reforms Act is strictly implemented by the West Bengal
Government, the position of land concentration in West Bengal today
is that 90 per cent of the land owners are small and marginal farmers
and 75per cent of the land is with them. In other states, 65 per cent
of cultivators are small and marginal farmers but they have only
around 15 per cent of the land.
When the Left Government was voted to power in 1977 in West Bengal,
the number of share croppers recorded was less than 5 lakhs. But, now
the share-croppers recorded in West Bengal is 14 lakh 50 thousand.
Almost all the sharecroppers have been registered.in West Bengal.
The experience of land reforms in West Bengal, Tripura and Kerala is
the effect that it has in raising the status of the poor in other
spheres. For example the panchayat system in West Bengal where over
two-thirds of the seats are won by scheduled castes, tribes,
oppressed sections including women is an example of how land reform
by breaking land monopolies and distributing land to the landless,
strengthens the democratic functioning of the panchayats and ensures
the advancement of the sociakl status of the rural poor and the
democratic rights of the masses.
If that embarrassing disaster underscored the extent to which the
government was unprepared with the fundamental issue of compensation,
the chaos over the distribution of compensation cheques makes it
plain that the equally critical issue of mutation may have been
ignored in numerous cases. Indeed, the Hooghly DM's unsuccessful
attempt to mollify agitators with the assurance that the problem
would be sorted out suggests that the matter may not have been taken
up at all. It thus comes about that those who had sold their land
were issued cheques as the new owners had not completed the mutation
for the land that was bought. This is a mandatory issue that governs
the buying and selling of land.
All this is not to suggest that the political parties, especially
those in the opposition, have no role in the implementation of the
new development projects. Most of the projects would involve the use
of agricultural land for new industries or even commercial
enterprises. More importantly, these would lead to the displacement
of large numbers of people from their land and livelihoods.
Obviously, no economy can survive, let alone prosper, simply on
agriculture. At the same time, economic growth makes little sense to
the common people if it does not touch and change their lives.
The Central Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in
New Delhi from September 24 to 26, 2006. It has issued the following
statement:
Special Economic Zones
The Central Committee discussed the Special Economic Zones which are
now being set up in large numbers around the country. The Act and
the Rules for the Special Economic Zones provides large tracts of
land to be acquired and handed over to promoter companies. This is
going to lead to large-scale displacement of farmers, meagre
compensation and no alternative means of livelihood. On the other
hand, promoters are getting land cheaply and they are going to make
their fortunes out of real estate development and speculation.
Indiscriminate approvals for SEZs have serious implications for
agriculture, food security, the interests of farmers and economic
sovereignty.
Urgent changes are required in the SEZ Act and Rules. There has to
be a cap on the amount of land to be allotted. Secondly, the
stipulation of land to be used in a SEZ for industry must be
increased to at least 50 per cent and 25 per cent for related
infrastructure. Thirdly, tax exemption proposals must be reviewed
and exemption from taxes must be drastically pruned. Adequate steps
to compensate and rehabilitate the displaced people must be taken.
The Land Acquisition Act has to be amended suitably for this. Apart
from farmers, agricultural workers should also be covered. SEZs
should be set up only with the approval of the state governments.
The Central Committee authorised the Polit Bureau to prepare a
comprehensive stand on the issue and mobilise support from other
political parties for amendments and changes in the Acts and Rules.
Conversion Laws in BJP States
The Central Committee expressed its serious concern at the amendments
made by the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and
Chattisgarh in the laws concerning religious conversion. The
amendments made to the Freedom of Religion law goes against the
constitutional right which grants citizens the right to propagate and
practice any religion of their choice. In Gujarat, the amendments
clubs Buddhism and Jainism as branches of the Hindu faith leading to
strong protests from representatives of these communities.
Conversion within these "branches" will not invite government
action. But if any Hindu wants to convert to Islam or Christianity,
they will first have to take permission from the District
Magistrate. Various objectionable clauses are there in the
legislations adopted in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chattisgarh.
These legislations will provide a legal licence to harass and
intimidate minorities which have become the hallmark of the BJP
rule in these states. The CPI(M) demands that these amendments should
be withdrawn and the legislation should not get assent for being
enforced as laws.
Bababudangiri Shrine
The Central Committee demanded that Karnataka government maintain the
status quo position at the Bababudangiri shrine in Chikmagalur
district. As in the previous year, no "shobha yatra" by the RSS
outfits should be permitted which will disturb communal amity and
peace.
Price Rise
The Central Committee reiterated its demand that futures trading in
foodgrains and other essential commodities be stopped as they are
helping speculative trading and cornering of stocks. The Central
Committee demanded the immediate strengthening of the public
distribution system. The BPL criteria has become an instrument for
the exclusion of large number of poor people from the PDS. The
Central government should adopt a proper criteria for identifying
people below the poverty line and issuance of cards to all of them.
Wheat Imports
The Central Committee noted that the government has decided to import
35 lakh tonnes of wheat on its own account. This was subsequently
increased to 55 lakh tonnes. The private sector was allowed to
import 30 lakh tonnes. India's entry into the wheat market has led
to international prices shooting up. The latest round of wheat
imports have been at the rate of 1300 per quintal. The overall
policies in agriculture and food will endanger the food security,
bring about dependence on food imports and increase prices of
foodgrains for the people.
The Central Committee demanded immediate steps to boost up wheat
production and for providing farmers with remunerative prices, so
that full procurement takes place.
Jharkhand
The Central Committee welcomed the fall of the BJP-led government in
Jharkhand which was formed, at the outset, through encouraging
defections. The new government can only be an interim phase. It is
necessary that elections be held soon so that a fresh mandate can be
sought from the people.
Assembly Elections
The Central Committee discussed the forthcoming Assembly elections in
Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Manipur.
As far as Uttar Pradesh elections are concerned, the UP state
committee of the Party will meet in October to discuss the political
situation and the line to be pursued. After that the Polit Bureau
will take a final decision.
In Punjab, Akali Dal-BJP alliance, given its past record and its rank
communal basis, has to be opposed. The CPI(M) will call for the
defeat of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance. The record of the Congress
government has been marked by policies of privatisation of public
education and health sectors, handing over large tracts of land to
big business to promote corporate agriculture and marred by large-
scale corruption. The Party will expose the harmful policies of
the Congress government and popularise the alternative pro-people
policies. In the elections, the CPI(M) and the CPI will fight the
elections jointly and rally some of the other secular forces around
an alternative platform.
In Uttaranchal, the CPI(M) will arrive at an understanding with the
CPI. As against the BJP and the Congress, the Left parties should
work for an understanding with other democratic parties.
In Manipur, the CPI(M) will contest a limited number of seats and
utilise the election campaign to take the message of the Party on how
the worsening situation in Manipur can be tackled.
Legislation
The Central Committee demanded that the bill for one-third
reservation for women in parliament and state legislatures be
introduced in the forthcoming winter session of parliament, in
keeping with the Prime Minister's assurance on the matter.
The Central Committee reiterated that the Forest Tribal Bill be taken
up in parliament incorporating the recommendations of the Joint
Parliamentary Committee.
Organisational Review
The Central Committee conducted a mid-term review on the
implementation of the tasks set forth by the 18th Congress of the
Party held in April 2005. The report on organisation notes the
growing importance and role of the Party in the national political
situation. The support to the UPA government and the intervention in
all major political issues had drawn the support from different
sections of the people. The present political situation offers a big
opportunity for the expansion of the Party. The Party organisation
must be geared up to go amongst these sections of the people and draw
them to the Party.
The review report on organisation evaluated the work done and noted
that the Party had made progress in implementing the main tasks set
out by the Congress – the Party Centre's interventions in political
and policy matters has been enhanced, there has been a growth in
Party membership of 9 per cent since 2004 with the membership now
being 9,45,486; there has been an increase in the membership of all
mass organisations; more attention has been paid to the priority
states and districts; more attention has been paid to Party education
and Central schools have been held regularly; the circulation of
People's Democracy has increased to the highest ever level with new
editions in Chennai, Agartala and Kochi; more publications of the
Party have been brought out; more attention has been paid to work on
the tribal front.
The report pointed out some of the weaknesses in the organisational
front and stressed the importance of taking up the tasks which had
not been implemented yet. The report emphasised the importance of
ensuring proper recruitment of members through auxiliary groups,
recruitment of more wholetime cadres and provision of a minimum wage
for them, strengthening of branch functioning, ensuring Party
education for all members and taking up sustained struggles on local
issues for advancement of the Party's base. The thrust should be to
expand the Party's base in states where we are weak.
The Central Committee decided that more efforts should be made to
concentrate work in priority districts and areas. As per the Party
Congress direction, a draft document on ideological issues must be
prepared for discussion within six months time. The Central
Committee also decided to prepare an updated rectification document
for providing a fresh thrust to the rectification campaign.
Future Programme
The Central Committee reviewed the August national political
campaign conducted by the Party. It was a successful campaign which
was able to take the Party's message to wide sections of the people.
On the basis of this response, the Central Committee decided that
state units should take up issues such as the Public Distribution
System, BPL cards, provision of house sites, implementation of REGA,
displacement of farmers, issues of social oppression and problems of
tribal people for initiating local struggles.
The Central Committee decided to support the calls of countrywide
jathas being organised separately by kisan, student and women
organisations. The Central Committee decided to extend support to
the call given by trade unions for all India general strike on
December 14.
The Central Committee called upon its Party units to observe the
birth centenary of Shahid Bhagat Singh which begins on September 28,
in an appropriate manner.
.
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