Our struggle has not ended with the defeat in the elections: Prakash Karat

The Left Parties on Thursday lashed out at the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, saying that as many as 24 of its workers and supporters had been killed since the Mamata Banerjee-led government took power in that State. In a joint resolution, they strongly condemned the “dastardly attacks being unleashed on Left Front activists in West Bengal” and demanded an immediate halt to them. 

Addressing a public meeting in Delhi as part of the national campaign of the Left Parties against Trinamool Atrocities in West Bengal , CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat, while referring to the achievements of the former Left Front government in West Bengal in land reforms, establishing communal harmony and transformation of the rural areas, said this was clearly not to the liking of some people. Giving details of the attacks on Left workers since the coming to power of the Trinamool in West Bengal, he stressed, “Our struggle has not ended with the defeat in these elections. We are committed to battle for people's rights.” He also pointed out that people should not forget that two crore people had voted for the Left Front even in these elections, and it would not be easy to crush their spirits or continuing struggle. “If anyone believes that Communism can be ended through physical attacks,” Mr Karat said,” they are wrong.” 

Later, CPI general secretary A.B. Bardhan pointed out that Ms. Banerjee could not escape responsibility for the hike in the prices of petroleum products and rising prices as her party was one of the Congress's biggest partners in the UPA government at the Centre, while taking credit for slashing some of the taxes on these items in the State. “It isn't as though there are two Mamata Banerjees — one in Delhi and another in Kolkata,” he said. The meeting was also addressed by Debabrata Biswas of the Forward Bloc and Abani Roy of the Revolutionary Socialist Party. Present on the dais were other Left leaders, including CPI(M) MPs Sitaram Yechury and Brinda Karat. 

The resolution blamed the “goondas” of the Trinamool, the Maoists and the Congress for the attacks on Left workers and demanded that the West Bengal government immediately intervene and end the “barbaric attacks.”

Alarming situation in rural Bengal, large scale eviction of peasants by Trinamool land-grabbers.

Poor villagers possessing land right (patta) granted by the Left Front government now facing mass eviction by Trinamool land-grabbers in rural Bengal. Photograph from Indpur in Bankura.  Photo :  Madhusudan Chatterjee.

An alarming situation has engulfed rural Bengal within one and a half month of Trinamool rule following a large scale eviction of peasants from their land by Trinamool land- grabbers with the help of the police.

The evicted peasants are mostly sharecroppers or bargadars who were given hereditary right to cultivate land of landowners under the Land Reforms policy of the Left Front government. Shortly after the formation of the government in 1977 the Left Front implemented its Land Reforms policy bringing about the end of immense exploitation of peasants by landholders. Under the new policy “patta” of government vested land was also  distributed among poor peasants. Within one and a half month of Trinamool rule the land-grabbers across the State have been regrouping  to forcibly occupy the ‘patta’ land distributed to landless poor peasants by the Left Front government. 

Aided by the police Trinamool land-grabbers has already in organized armed operations evicted more than 20,000 poor peasants, mostly bargadars and patta-holders in different districts of West Bengal. While in Haroa at Barasat in north 24-parganas  alone recorded an eviction figure of more than 10,000,in West Midnapore and Birbhum the number of sharecroppers and patta-holders evicted are more than 3000 each. The reports of eviction are also available from Bankura and Hooghly.The Trinamool activists have been in many places engaged by Jotedars and Zamindars whose lands are used be cultivated by bargadars. Now with the help of Trinamool goons they are trying to evict the bargadars or sharecroppers.