Wednesday, October 16, 2013

CPI (M) Polit Bureau on West Bengal Attacks

New Delhi: October 7 - The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on October 6, 2013. It has issued the following statement on West Bengal Attacks :

Attacks on the CPI(M) and Left Front cadres and activists are continuing in West Bengal. The Trinamul Congress under the aegis of the state government is responsible for this violence against the opposition. After the results of the panchayat elections, six cadres and members of the CPI(M) have been killed, the latest being the brutal murder of a member of the zonal committee of the party in Bardaman district.

The Polit Bureau demanded that such attacks should be stopped forthwith and the state government must take steps to end this violence against the opposition. The Polit Bureau appealed to all democratic forces in the country to protest against this violence and attacks on democracy.

From India News Network (INN)


‘Move SC for CBI Inquiry into Saradha Chit Fund Scam’ : CPI(M) LEADERS SUBMIT MEMO TO PM

Surjyokanta Mishra, leader of opposition, West Bengal assembly and Sitaram Yechury, leader, CPI(M) Group, Rajya Sabha met the prime minister Dr Manmohan Singh on October 7 and submitted the following memorandum concerning financial fraud by certain financial companies/chit funds in the state of West Bengal. A copy has been sent to union minister of corporate affairs, Sachin Pilot also.

KINDLY refer to our letter of May 9, 2013 regarding the alarming financial irregularities of Saradha Group, the reply letter of June 2, 2013 of Union Minister of State for Finance (Expenditure and Financial Services), and our subsequent letter on July 15, 2013 pointing out inadequacy of action on the part of central government against this financial scam.

This inadequacy has now resulted in a situation where despite the massive fraud by this Saradha Group, with closing down of all its offices and default on repayment of at least 17 lakh depositors, no action has yet been taken on the part of the SEBI and the government of West Bengal to attach the properties of this Saradha Group and for arranging, in a legally appropriate manner, disposal of these  properties for repayment of dues to the depositors. Instead, without having any Constitutional and legal basis and in deviation from the order of the Calcutta High Court (July 26, 2013 page 70), the state government has just allotted and also released a sum of Rs 50 crore from the State budgetary resource as grant to the Inquiry Commission recently, set up by the state government itself, for starting payment to a section of depositors (Memo issued by the Home Department, September 23, 2013).  Providing such grant for compensation instead of disposal of assets of the Saradha Group is again violation of terms of reference (No. 8) of the Inquiry Commission itself (Gazette Notification April 24, 2013).

Under these circumstances, we urge upon you to intervene in this matter so that payment to all depositors is made with adequate promptness, by attaching the properties of Saradha Group in accordance with law and as also directed by the SEBI (April 23, 2013) and not by giving grant through the Commission which is not legal, as mentioned above. This process should start immediately with focus on attachment and disposal of properties, along with punishment for the offending Group.

For completing the entire process, a comprehensive list of properties, including the `benami’ properties, would be essential.  Since this Saradha Group reportedly has properties in several states as well as abroad and since states like Tripura, Odisha and Assam affected by the activities of this Group, have already decided to involve CBI, the government of India should immediately move the Supreme Court, by joining a litigation already being heard in the Apex Court in this matter, in favour of intervention of CBI for investigation under the order as well as supervision of the Supreme Court. It would be appropriate to forge coordination between the efforts of CBI with those of SFIO and ED and also the state agencies, when required.

Of late, there have been reported allegations by one Trinamul Congress (AITC) Member of Parliament  against another AITC MP for having irregular financial relation with this Saradha Group. These are all the more reasons for immediate induction of CBI for inquiry with overall supervision of the Supreme Court for reasons of neutrality.

Similar action should be initiated by the government of India regarding other financial groups/chit funds where frauds have been detected by SEBI or SFIO, with punishment for the offending companies and beginning the process of attachment of properties and disposal in a lawful manner for compensation of the depositors.


Along with the campaign at all levels against the activities of these irregular companies, it is also important for government of India to bring back the attractiveness of small saving schemes and to  take more expeditious steps for spreading banking network in West Bengal and in several other states.

Unabated Killings in West Bengal

Kolkata: IN a gruesome incident, Kartick Mondal, a member of Katwa zonal committee of CPI(M) was brutally killed by TMC goons in his village. Mondal (64) was an extraordinary human being -- retired teacher, a singer and song writer, organiser of Adivasi Lokshilpi Sangha, the organisation of the folk artists and a leader of the peasant movement. He was very close to people.

On the night of 6th October, Mondal returned to his village in Katwa after attending a meeting of the cultural organisation. In a pre-meditated attack, the armed goons were waiting in a bush near Mondal’s house and attacked him savagely. Mondal was killed on the spot. As the villagers rushed in hearing shouts, the assailants fled from the spot.

Police was informed but did not bother to reach the spot for two long hours, though the nearest police outpost was only 4 km away. When the police reached the spot, the villagers demanded that they carry out a house-to-house search as they suspected that the killers were not still able to run away. But the police refused to do so. Even the request to bring sniffer dogs was also denied. Angered, the villagers refused to hand over the body to police till midnight. It was clear that there was complicity between the ruling party murderers and the police.

Thousands of people paid tributes to Kartick Mondal in his last rites the next day. Villagers came out in numbers all along the 25 km road from the Katwa town to the village. People were literally crying . The village women brought flowers from their own home to lay at Mondal’s body. Katwa-2 block observed a spontaneous bandh to protest the murder. The police, who refused to arrest the killers, used force to break the bandh. Seventeen CPI(M) activists were arrested.

A terror regime has been let loose in the district of Burdwan. One after another murder of CPI(M) leaders has taken place in the last 28 months, that included district secretariat member, district committee members and zonal committee members.

SCHOOL CANDIDATE’S BROTHER KILLED

Bedbaria, a village at Chapra, Nadia resembled the state of democracy in West Bengal on the afternoon of 06th October. As 60 villagers were evicted from their residence, 10 houses were set on fire after being robbed and Ashadul Seikh (42 years) got brutally killed for the ‘grave mistake’ his brother has committed by participating in the elections of a school guardians’ management committee as a candidate of the progressive democratic guardians.

On the same day when the chief minister was busy in inaugurations of high-budget festive makeshifts (Puja pandals) in the glare of lights and glitters in Kolkata, the residents of Chapra witnessed a spine chilling episode of terror or whatever the CM and her disciples term as ‘democracy’ that has been practiced day by day for the 28 months in this state by them. Bedbaria Higher Secondary School’s Guardians’ Management Committee elections were scheduled to be held on this day and filling up of candidature was done prior to that as per practice. Ashadul Seikh’s brother, Ramjan Sheikh, was one of the candidates despite threats from Trinamool Congress not to contest.

Just after the elections were over, an armed gang attacked the house of Ramjan, who was not present in the house. His brother Asadul was attacked with sharp weapons and was killed on the spot. Theirs and 10 other houses were set on fire, and got burned to the ashes. Ramjan’s daughter and two nieces were burnt and hospitalised. 60 villagers had to flee from the village.

The ordeal did not end there. TMC barred Asadul’s body to be brought to village burial ground and the burial had to be done some 20 km away.  Despite clear allegation and FIR from Asadul’s wife, the police did not arrest any assailants. Instead, Ramjan Sheikh was arrested due to the pressure from the ruling party.

AGRI WORKER BEATEN TO DEATH BY POLICE

Over to police, directly. The TMC was eager to win control over a School Management Committee at Indapur, Bankura.  The ruling party leaders threatened the villagers not to oppose them.  The agricultural workers of Boga village disagreed to let the ruling party have a clean sweep in the election, so they protested. The consequent result was merciless attack on the village, this time directly led by the police.  They unleashed massive lathicharge on the village labourers, entered in poor peoples’ homes, ransacked and unleashed a reign of terror. Binod Bauri (55 years), an agricultural worker, was beaten to death by the police.  When the villagers went to the police station to lodge a FIR, the police refused to take the complaint saying that Binod died in a heart-attack. The police then rushed to the village with the body of the dead agricultural workers and forced the relatives of the dead to burn the body without post mortem. Bauri had numerous injuries and wounds on his body. The village was practically surrounded by police and villagers were forced to remain silent. However, CPI(M) leaders went to the villages and visited the homes of the poor people. The villagers described the incidents to them.

VETERAN CPI(M) LEADER KILLED

On 8th October, veteran CPI(M) leader Bharat Mondal was murdered in Kultali village in South 24 Parganas district. He was returning after attending a Party meeting, riding on a motorbike of another Party leader. On the way, they were both attacked by TMC activists. They threw bombs and then fired. Bharat Mondal was attacked by sharp weapons too. He was killed on the spot and Samsuddin Sardar was seriously injured.

Mondal was instrumental in organising the villagers in Kundakhali Godabar where Left Front won the panchayat in the recent elections. Mondal was the key eye-witness in the murder of CPI(M) leader Icha Gayen, who was murdered in August, 2012.  Thousands of people gathered in the night in the village and blocked roads. They also refused to hand over the body to police. Police faced huge protest from the people. A 12-hour bandh was observed in Kultali in protest of the murder.