Wednesday, March 4, 2015

In West Bengal, CPI(M) attempts course correction - The Hindu

By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The party comes out with an assessment of 34 years of Left Front rule

In an attempt at course correction and to reach out to the people, the State committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has come out with a draft report assessing the 34 years of Left Front rule in West Bengal.

The 34-page document, which has a fair amount of criticism of the Left Front government, has been put on the party’s website for public response before the final draft is approved.

The document described the attempts at land acquisition at Singur and Nandigram as an “exception,” and said they called forth an “adverse reaction” from the people. At Nandigram, the “proactiveness of some CPI(M) leaders turned the people against us,” it said. And 82.82 per cent of farmers of Singur in Hooghly district were willingly gave their land for the Tata Motor’s car factory.

On the violence in the Jangalmahal region, the document said Maoists, helped by the Trinamool Congress, extended their influence in the region where the party had a strong influence once. The party got isolated from the people, despite political and administrative efforts, it said.

The document said that though the Left Front government promoted primary education in a significant way, there were questions about the standard. The Left Front put an end to the anarchy in higher education caused by the Congress government, but there were unwarranted political interference in some higher educational institutions. “There is no need for a party-based election in the governing bodies [of educational institutions],” it said.

The document said the number of people living below the poverty line had consistently decreased during the Left Front government, and West Bengal stood second in poverty alleviation, after Kerala. The Left Front government was the first to create reservation in government employment for Muslims, as recommended by the Ranganath Mishra Commission. And it was the first to take up decentralisation of power by creating rural bodies even before the 73rd Amendment to the Constitution established the three-tier panchayat system.

No comments: