Interview with Surjya Kanta
Mishra, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member and Leader of the Opposition in the West
Bengal Assembly. By SUHRID SANKAR CHATTOPADHYAY
FRONTLINE, Published:
March 30, 2016 12:30 IST | Updated: April 5, 2016 13:18 IST
SURJYA
KANTA MISHRA, Polit Bureau member of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and
State secretary of the party, is the face of the opposition in the State. In
this exclusive interview with Frontline, Mishra says that it is the
people’s urge to replace the Trinamool Congress government that has prompted
different secular democratic political parties to come together. Excerpts:
You are
the face of the opposition in West Bengal and you are leading the electoral
battle against the ruling Trinamool Congress. Though premature at this moment,
how do you think the elections will span out?
First, I
do not believe that I am the face either of the opposition or of the party. We
believe, as Jyotibabu [Jyoti Basu] used to say, it is the people who make
history. It is the people who are our face ultimately. We have been reiterating
from time to time that the Left and democratic front is possible only by the
change of the correlation of class forces.
As for
the election battle, I think it is spanning out on the lines we had envisaged.
What we have is a new challenge that we have never faced before. In the 1970s
we faced a challenge when the question of democracy had become the foremost
question. Today, added to the attack on democracy is the threat to the secular
fabric of West Bengal.
The
unholy alliance between the ruling party in the State and the BJP at the Centre
has been instrumental in fuelling communal passions, resulting in communal
polarisation. This is to their mutual benefit. Their basic economic policies
remain the same so far as livelihood of the poor is concerned.
Theirs is
a three-pronged attack—on democracy, on secularism, and on the livelihood of
the masses. Our foremost task is to oust this government—our call is to oust
the TMC to save Bengal and to oust the BJP to save India.
There
have been no free and fair elections after 2011 and it is of utmost importance
for all secular democratic forces to unite to fight the coming battle. The
battle has to be organised at the grass-roots level irrespective of political
affiliations as all sections are under attack. It is the urge of the people to
replace the government that has prompted different secular democratic political
parties to discuss with each other how this objective can be realised.
How is
the opposition combine working out?
The
fundamental change in the situation now [from 2011 when the Trinamool
Congress-Congress alliance came to power] is that the constituents of the
rainbow alliance with which Mamata Banerjee came to power have all deserted her
and her party. They realised how impossible it is to stay with her as they were
repeatedly subjected to attacks. Even people within her own party are not
spared. There is turf war happening everywhere and Trinamool members are
killing each other regularly. Most of the constituents which deserted her
approached us and asked us to take the initiative and lead the battle for
democracy. Ultimately it was the urge of the people.
I must
also add that one cannot manufacture anything in a vacuum, and the situation
for the secular democratic forces to come together was created by the Left
through its different political programmes. People began to think that it was
possible to defeat this government provided the votes were not divided.
How far
is the opposition likely to capitalise on this latest setback for the ruling
party brought about by the Narada News sting operation?
To us it
is a political battle. It is not about simply capitalising on an issue. This
new global order, and the neoliberal economy pursued in the country, itself
breeds corruption. The sting vindicates how corrupt the top levels of the
Trinamool party are. Such a thing has never happened in Bengal before and it is
our shame. Imagine the police chief of a district taking money authorised by
the ruling party! What role can be expected from such police to ensure proper
voting? This is a manifestation of the economic system that we live in.
But there
is no denying that there is match-fixing between the BJP and the Trinamool on
the Narada issue. The BJP referred the matter to the Ethics Committee in the
Lok Sabha, but then in the Rajya Sabha, the Chair had to say that the
government does not want an investigation. We do not know what kind of an
understanding the Trinamool and the BJP have reached. But we do know that the
Trinamool is nervous now.
How do
you assess the performance of the government in the areas of agriculture and
industry?
In the
unforeseen agrarian crisis in the State, 167 farmers committed suicide, and the
Chief Minister sent a report to the Centre saying that there have been no
suicides. Take the case of the tea industry where there have been hundreds of
starvation deaths, and she sent a report stating that there have been no
starvation deaths. Not just the tea industry, see the condition of other
industries as well, particularly the jute industry, the engineering industry,
the SMEs [small and medium enterprises], etc. In the last seven years of Left
Front rule, job creation in West Bengal in the manufacturing sector was the
highest in the country according to NSS [National Sample Survey] data. Gujarat
was a distant second.
Now there
is drastic reduction in employment in the manufacturing sector in the State.
This reflects the health of the industry. Industries are simply running away
from the State.
What is
the Left’s strategy in this election?
We have
highlighted the achievements of 34 years of Left rule; and, of course, we
looked into our weaknesses too, so we can learn from them. We are comparing
that with what has been happening in the last five years under the Trinamool.
Our point is to go to the people and learn from them, find out what they want.
That is our strategy.
© Frontline: Apr 5,
2016 4:18:49 PM
