CPM: Bengal loss due to UPA split
In its first review of the historic defeat of the Left Front government in West Bengal after 32 years, the CPI(M) has virtually accepted
that withdrawal of support to the UPA-I government in 2008 allowed the anti-Left forces to come together “to attack the Left in Bengal — the
strongest base of the Left in the country”. The report raises the concern that the “loss” of 32 years of Left rule in West Bengal “can give rise
to political confusion and ideological questions” for “party members” as most of them have been in the party “when there has always been a Left
Front government existing in West Bengal”.
In a 15-page review, the major Left party has pinned the blame on the ousted Left Front government’s “shortcomings” in delivery of basic services,
such as the public distribution system (PDS), health, education and rural electrification apart, from “existence of corruption and wrongdoing among
a small strata of party leaders and cadres”. The review report, adopted by the CPI(M) central committee, also points towards “organisational”
failures, saying, “The image of the party amongst the people has been dented by manifestations of high-handedness, bureaucratism and refusal to
hear the views of the people”.
Criticising the ousted Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee-led Left Front government, the report discloses that “some of the programmes and schemes were not
taken up for implementation”, causing “discontent” among the people. It says the Singur and Nandigram events brought the issue of land acquisition
to the fore and the “administrative and political mistakes in this regard proved costly”. Events at Nandigram and the subsequent police firing
alienated sections of the intelligentsia and the middle classes, it says. The report adds that “the erosion of support amongst the working class
and the rural and urban poor indicates the failure to consistently take up class issues. The independent role of the party and mass organisations
was impaired due to dependence on the administration, it says.
The report notes, “Steps such as the implementation of reservation in jobs for Muslims under the OBC category came too late to make a difference.
“We should examine the reasons for our poor performance.
Post new comment