WEST BENGAL CITU Calls for Vigorous Struggle

HOWRAH: 12^th November, 2012- THE 10th state conference of CITU West Bengal committee has vowed to launch a vigorous struggle to defend the rights of the workers in the state. A programme to mobilise wider sections of workers in defense of the gains that are being attacked now in the state has been formulated from the conference.

The state conference was held at Comrade Jyoti Basu Nagar (Howrah) and Comrade M K Pandhe Manch (Sarat Sadan) during November 8 - 11, 2012.  The conference was  inaugurated by A K Padmanabhan, president of CITU, after hoisting the Red flag and offering floral tributes to the martyrs. 

In his inaugural speech, Padmanabhan said the CITU would, jointly with other trade unions, resist the onslaught on the people launched by the UPA-II government in the name of economic reforms. Referring to the severe attacks against the workers in West Bengal in the changed political situation, the CITU leader expressed confidence that the workers of West Bengal will play their historical role in the present situation like in the earlier days. 

Padmanabhan said the Indian economic policy regime has undergone a right wing shift since the introduction of neo-liberal economic policies. The union government is acting under the dictates of the Word Bank and the chambers of commerce in order to make the labour laws of the country flexible. He warned that the trade unions would strongly resist such an attempt. Already the multinational companies are not implementing the existing labour laws. They are brazenly restricting the workers from participating in the trade unions. Even the constitutionally guaranteed rights of the people are being undermined by the big corporate and MNCs. The union government is a mere spectator to these violations. In such a scenario if the labour laws are further diluted, the workers will be subject to maximum exploitation.

Padmanabhan emphasised the necessity of protection of the trade union rights along with ensuring of the social security, control of price hike and universal public distribution system. He said that CITU has always been in favour of the united workers movement from its class outlook. After travelling a long path, all the central trade unions have called for a 48-hour countrywide general strike on the 20th and 21st February 2013. This has happened for the first time in the history of independent India. The trade unions will launch a vigorous campaign to make the general strike successful and informed that a march to parliament will be held on 20th December to highlight the demands of the working class.

Kali Ghosh, secretary of CITU West Bengal state committee placed the report in the conference. While placing the report he said that the workers movement of the state is facing various attacks during the tenure of the Trinamool Congress government. He said the situation is so bad that the chief minister refused to meet their delegation that sought to submit a memorandum about the growing attacks on trade unions in West Bengal.

Tapan Sen, general secretary of CITU, in his speech exposed the anti-people nature of the neo-liberal policies being implemented by the union government and emphasised the need for a united struggle against these policies.

In the context of growing number of unorganised sector workers and contractual workers, the 10th state conference emphasised on their problems and issues in detail and outlined the path of future programmes. Special discussions were held on these two aspects.

The delegates in the conference discussed the issue of the contractual labour in detail, especially the growing attack on the labour laws of the country in the name of labour market flexibility. How the neo liberal globalisation policies are impacting the working class people of West Bengal was also discussed in particular. The organisation has decided to observe 12th December 2012 as the demand day for the contractual workers. The workers shall unitedly hold their protest in front of the offices of the department of labour in all the districts. The delegates also pointed out the lethargy of the state government in implementing the social security and welfare programmes initiated by the earlier Left Front government. The delegates exchanged their experiences of the struggle against the terror attacks against the trade union movement by the Trinamool backed hooligans. The delegates expressed confidence of taking on this challenge in the wake of the historic success in the state of the 28th February all India general strike called by the central trade unions. The delegates underlined the importance of consolidating various streams of worker movements in order to achieve the political goals.

The 10th state conference elected the new CITU West Bengal state committee. Shaymal Chakraborty has been re-elected as the president and Dipak Dasgupta has been elected as the secretary.

MASSIVE RALLY

On the concluding day of the conference, on 11th November, the  rally was held at Dumurjala in Howrah. The rally turned out to be a mammoth one. Addressing the rally, former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said a desperate situation is prevailing in the state in which farmers are unable to sell produce and industrialists are shying away from investing in the state. “The government failed to attract a single fresh investment. IT majors Wipro and Infosys, who came here during the Left rule, are now thinking of leaving the state,” said Bhattacharjee.

Slamming the government for taking the state towards an industrial disaster in absence of a clear policy, Bhattacharjee referred to how Singur has now become a desert. “Had the car manufacturing factory come up there, about 5000 to 6000 people would have got jobs. Hooghly’s profile would have been different by now, if our plan to bring industry to Singur was not thwarted. At Haldia, one cargo-handling agency was driven out to give way to a company run by a Trinamool Congress MP. This state is gradually moving towards industrial doomsday.”

Bhattacharjee said that the transport workers and the whole transport sector of the state are in a deplorable condition. Most private transport vehicles are lying idle as the agencies are becoming incapable of managing the cost of the business. Transport workers are not getting salaries, pensions, and are compelled to resort to suicides. This is the crude reality of the state where the salaries of ministers in the TMC-led government had gone up from Rs 7000 during the Left Front rule to Rs 27,000 now. And the government is acting as a sleeping beauty, he criticised.

Bhattacharjee also highlighted the farmers’ misery saying they are finding it difficult to sell their crop as the “price they are getting is uneconomical”. Explaining the current labour scenario of the country. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee sharply criticised the Manmohan Singh government for incessantly taking anti-people decisions that have severely affected the working population of the country.

West Bengal LF Govt and The Working Class

By Shyamal Chakraborty

WHILE addressing the rally of the workers and employees on the occasion of taking the responsibility of chief ministership of the First Left Front government of West Bengal, Comrade Jyoti Basu declared that the government would not be run from Writers’ Building (state secretariat) alone. The people would be very much part of it. The people of West Bengal witnessed the implementation of this policy in the last 34 years. The Left Front government has remained in favour of the just and lawful demands of the workers. The government has always taken up issues of the toiling people and sided with their legitimate demands in their struggle against the employers and anti-people, anti-worker policies of the government of India.

The Left Front government gave even the government employees the right to strike, a right that exists nowhere else in India for them. Never for once did the LF government invoke the draconian ESMA against the workers and employees.

As per the provisions of the Industrial Disputes Act, the employers cannot suo moto declare lock out, lay off, closure in their establishment to avoid settlement of demands raised by the union. Prior to the formation of the Left Front government, the employers used to handle the labour laws in their own interest and to their sweet will. Cases of such violation have stopped forthwith with the formation of Left Front government in 1977. The government has played a significant role in enacting several labour-friendly laws.

Tea industry is one of the major traditional industries of the state. About 50 tea estates were closed by the owners of the companies. The government of West Bengal took immense initiative and care towards subsistence and support of the workers for the total period of closure by providing food, fuel, treatment and health care. Now almost all the tea estates except for four have been opened. Workers got back their jobs and their wages were also raised in several instances.

The labour department has taken a major initiative to support the job seekers of the state by providing suitable training to enhance their employability. Under this scheme, 50 per cent of the cost of training is borne by the government. Registered unemployed youth are given this opportunity. This scheme is in addition to the facilities provided by the department of technical education.

Industries become sick due to various reasons. Whenever those industries are sent to BIFR, the Left Front government stood firmly to protect the interests of the workers. Due to the earnest efforts of the Left Front government, some industries could be revitalised even after sending them to the BIFR. Dunlop is one of the major examples. In order to resolve the industrial disputes raised by the trade unions, the labour department took up the matter with utmost level of sincerity. Right from the assistant labour commissioners, district collectors, labour commissioner and labour minister himself intervene to settle the disputes depending upon the magnitude of the problem. Disputes of the workers of jute industry, Hind Motor, Dunlop have been settled through amicable discussions at the level of labour minister besides thousands of disputes settled at lower stages. By this process, trade unions have become more responsible. Industrial peace and harmony is established in all over the state to an exemplary level.

Whenever an industrial unit is closed through the legal process of closure, the state government came forward with financial support at Rs 1,500 per month for each of the workers of these closed industries.

UNORGANISED SECTOR
Not only the workers of organised industry, the government’s major area of concern also includes the unorganised sector as well. The unorganised workers account for about 93 per cent of the total workforce in India. The largest segment of India's unorganised sector is still the agricultural workers. The vigorous pursuit of neo-liberal policies in the case of agriculture in India has resulted in dire distress situation in rural India. In the rural areas, working people related to agriculture especially the agricultural workers are forming the bulk of the unorganised sector or the service sector. The number of workers engaged in agriculture is gradually going down. Going by successive census reports, the all -India data is as follows:

Percentage of Working People in Rural Areas

Agriculture Non-agriculture

1991 2001
India
71
29
67
33
West Bengal
71
29.3
58
41.6


It is now a proven fact that the central government has never suitably taken into account the issue of social security of the unorganised workers. The schemes that were declared did not have substantial financial support. The proposed schemes do not provide for efficient legal safeguards to workers if the employers go back on their commitments.

In Bengal, at present, there are about two crore fifty lakh unorganised workers. Of them, there are around one crore seventy lakh workers engaged purely in informal and service sectors, and eighty lakh agricultural workers (approximately). In West Bengal the social security schemes introduced for the unorganised sector may be broadly subdivided under four categories:

a. construction workers (40 lakh)
b. transport workers (15 lakh)
c. beedi workers (20 lakh)
d. rest of the unorganised workers including the agricultural workers.

The ambit of the labour department has been extended to community development block level to facilitate the unorganised sector workers to get enrolled and enjoy the benefits of numerous social security schemes as well as to provide for effective resolution of disputes between employers and employees in the informal sector.

CONSTRUCTION WORKERS
The West Bengal building and other construction workers' welfare board extends a bunch of facilities to the unorganised construction workers within the age group of 18 to 60 years. The construction-workers may enroll their names for the scheme against Rs 20 only, which will be his/her monthly contribution towards the scheme. The worker will get back the accrued amount on attainment of 60 years of age. A financial assistance of Rs 2,00,000 will be extended to the family of the worker, if he/she dies prematurely. Rs 500 to Rs 870 as the case may be, will be paid to the worker as pension if he/she is incapacitated for work permanently. Financial help will also be given for medical treatment to the workers and his /her sons and /or daughters. The worker is entitled to get up to Rs 50,000 as house building loan.

The children (not more than two of a particular worker) will enjoy the benefits of scholarship (from class IX to the highest level of formal education). Financial assistance for the marriage of daughters etc will also be available.

TRANSPORT SECTOR WORKERS
Under the scheme each worker will get a pension on monthly basis after retirement, from 60 years of age till his death. But in case of disability of permanent nature caused by an accident, the worker will be entitled to get the pension since the occurrence of the accident. Apart from this, in case of accidental death, the family of the worker will receive a sum of Rs One lakh as financial assistance under the scheme. Any transport worker may avail of this scheme by paying Rs 30 a year.

Among other facilities and support provided by this scheme include:

Rs 50,000 for permanent disability, Rs 25,000 for partial disability, Rs 10,000 for treatment of diseases like tuberculosis, cancer, leprosy, cardiac problems, renal disorders, AIDS, thalassemia etc, Rs 30,000 for surgical purpose, Rs 3,000 as maternity assistance (maximum two times), educational assistance for children includes Rs 2,000 for higher secondary level, Rs 3,000 for graduation level, Rs 5,000 for post graduate level and Rs 10,000 for studies either engineering or medical, Rs 5,000 as assistance for marriage of their daughters, Rs 30,000 as a financial assistance for normal death of the worker.

BEEDI WORKERS
The state government has come forward with programmes of installing domestic power-connections at the worker's residences and assisting in building their houses. Existing Bidi Board provides Rs 30,000 for construction of bidi workers’ houses for its beneficiaries. But the workers concerned have to pay Rs 10,000. Again for electrical connection, a bidi worker has to pay Rs 2,500. The state government now is contributing to the workers share of Rs 10,000 and Rs 2,500 respectively for the workers. The state government also pays Rs 10,000 to each of the member of a co-operative housing scheme for infrastructure development like drinking water, roads, sanitation etc.

PF FOR UNORGANISED WORKERS
This scheme (SASPFUW) is being pursued from 2001 by the West Bengal Unorganised Workers' Welfare Board under the labour department, government of West Bengal. Workers within the age group of 18-60 years and engaged in the profession for 61 numbers of services or are self-employed come under the purview of the scheme. The plan of the scheme envisages a contribution of Rs 20 on the part of the worker and the same amount along with the interest accrued on the total amount on the part of the state government. The whole amount, contributed by the worker and the state government as well as the interest on the total amount is reposed in the hands of the concerned worker as he turns 60. The nominee gets the amount in case of premature death of the worker. Workers with a personal income of less than Rs 6,500 per month are eligible for the scheme.

If a worker at the age of 18 becomes a member of the scheme and continues upto 60 years, his total contribution of money of Rs 10,080 will be paid by him. At the time of retirement, he will get back Rs 1,52,000 (including the state government’s contribution of Rs 1,00,000). This is unique in the whole country.

A worker after joining the scheme will get the benefit of Rastriya Bima Jogana automatically.

SARVA SIKSHA MISSION
The union government’s attitude towards evading social and constitutional responsibilities and West Bengal’s Left Front government’s pro-people attitude can further be construed when we look at the implementation of Sarva Siksha (mass literacy) Mission. When the mission was announced, the government of India took the financial responsibility of 85 per cent of the cost and 15 per cent was to be borne by the state government. They are continuously trying to get rid of their responsibility. They have reduced their cost burden to the extent of 65 per cent and imposed 35 per cent cost upon the state governments. Persons engaged for propagating the extension of education both in formal and non-formal sectors are paid meager wages without any social security. In West Bengal, Left Front government, besides sharing its enhanced cost burden raised the wages of the teachers of formal sector to the extent of 35 per cent and lump sum quantum to others, last year. Teachers of formal sector have been assured engagement up to 60 years and an amount of Rs One lakh on attainment of age superannuation. On the contrary, the government of India is planning to wind up the mission by March 31, 2011

COMMUNITY HEALTH GUIDES
Similarly, community health guides engaged in West Bengal under this project were terminated without having any responsibility towards them. The Left front government is continuing the project in the interests of the social benefit of rural people and keeping the community health guides engaged. Due to the withdrawal of the government of India, the entire cost burden is borne by the government of West Bengal.

ASHA workers also engaged in government of India’s projects are paid only Rupees Five Hundred a month. Even with its limited resources, the government of West Bengal is paying an additional sum of Rupees Three Hundred as partial relief to these categories of women workers hailing from poor rural families.

TOWARDS THE EIGHTH LEFT FRONT GOVT
Working in a constituent state of a federal set up which itself is essentially semi-feudal and semi-capitalist and consequently concentrated in its anti-labour outlook is like an arduous journey on an untrodden path. But the measures undertaken by the West Bengal LF government have deepened its links with the mass of the people in West Bengal. It has never been an easy way. Every major pro-people achievement is the outcome of decisive struggle against all kinds of reactionary forces. Any major advance in favour of the working people cannot be achieved without difficulties and trials. But the Left Front government has always kept in its heart the words of Rabindranath Tagore who, filled with unshakable faith in the power of the working people, wrote:

“They go on working
In Anga, in Banga, in Kalinga's seas and river-ghats,
In Punjab, Bombay and Gujarat”.

He also said about the workers:

“The farmer ploughs the field
The weaver is busy at his loom.
The fisherman makes his net,
Their manifold work stretches far and wide
It is their labour that makes the world move”.


6th March, 2011
PEOPLE’S DEMOCRACY

In The Eternal Path Of Glorious Struggle

by Shyamal Chakraborty

Recently the investigating CBI officer Partha Sarathi Bose was arrested on the charge of taking bribe. The CPI(M) MP's had met the prime minister and submitted a memorandum demanding an enquiry against this particular officer. We want to know how much bribe this officer took and from whom for falsely implicating Suhrid Dutta in Tapasi Malik murder case? How much money did he take for guarding the real culprits?

A SELF proclaimed environmental activist lives in Kolkata. Filing legal cases is one of his very basic characteristics. But one can't blame him for filing cases on all matters. He is a bit choosy in this regard. He does not bother even if large number of trees are cut in the western forestry. But his instincts are sharp only in two particular cases. One is anything related to the Left Front government of the state and the other anything related to the Communist Party of India (Marxist).

This man went to the court against the celebrated Kolkata Book Fair. The Book Fair had to be shifted from its original birthplace, Kolkata maidan to the Milan Mela Complex, in Eastern Metropolitan Bypass. The self-styled "environmentalist" had complained of dust pollution! This new area is not free from dust. In fact there were miniature dust storms in that area. But it seems the dust in this area is not at all polluted!! Naturally, the big media is overwhelmed with the shift of venue. Who says that people don't come to the Fair in large numbers? The conditions of the common man have been horrible. How many people have own personal vehicles? A few, too few to deserve mention! Maidan was at the heart of the city and naturally had a very well knitted structure of transportation which included Metro Rail, Circular Rail, Bus and Tram Terminals. Maidan was a place that was also very well connected with Howrah, Kolkata's twin city through Vidyasagar and Rabindra Setu and even by the ferry system across the Hooghly River. For the Milan Mela Prangan, the government had to arrange a large number of buses involving extra expenditure. But it does not bother that self proclaimed environment activist. His goal has been fulfilled!

One may wonder how this gentleman man moves around. Does he move around on foot or in some pollution-free vehicle? There is an apt proverb which teaches us that charity must begin at home. Has this gentleman ever heard of this proverb? He not only strongly disapproves of rallies at Brigade Parade Ground but is not ready to allow anybody to walk or sit even on grass. The war against pollution must go on!!! So to fulfill his desires nobody must come for morning walk in the maidan. Children must not come to play. Nobody must come for evening stroll. That's precisely the desire of the selfish giant. Is the Kolkata Maidan the private ground of any selfish giant?

The entire problem lies with the CPI(M) rallies. This particular man and few others can tolerate everything except the CPI(M). The huge Brigade rallies organised by the CPI(M) or the Left Front are his eye sore. Are rallies not held in the Ram Lila Maidan of Delhi?

Unfortunately the fact remains that apart from the Brigade ground there is no other place in Kolkata where such a large number of people can assemble. Since a Left rally invariably draws about half a million people, Brigade ground is the only place to accommodate. Meetings, rallies, marches are integral part of a democratic environment. They are manifestations of the exercise of democracy. Protection of democratic rights and its further nourishment and expansion is a continuous process. Inadequate exercise of democracy paves the way for fascist forces to creep in. The strengthening of the hands of fascism is definitely a form of pollution.

For making rallies successful in Brigade ground, lakhs of people have to be organised. A Brigade march is a result of massive organisational networking among the people. Apart from CPI(M), Kisan Sabha, DYFI, the other political forces in the state do not have the organisational strength to convene a Brigade rally. Some boast of organising rallies there but ultimately end up in a fiasco. The paltry rostrum at one nook facing the Jawaharlal Nehru Road unsuccessfully tries to hide the thinness of the gathering! A few thousand of people serve their purpose.

Leader of one opposition party has said that they do not organise meetings at Brigade. Does anybody remember the tale where someone said that the grapes were sour?

SHELL-SHOCKED
BY NAYACHAR!

The Left Front government has got the permission of setting up a petrochemical hub at Nayachar. And immediate notes of opposition are in the air from none other than Trinamul Congress. The pretext for opposition this time is pollution. Pollution of environment cannot be tolerated by TMC. So Bengal can't have a chemical hub! They are also saying that the livelihood of 6 lakh fishermen will be in ruins with the hub. So ‘No to Nayachar’ is their new slogan!! It is not at all necessary to go into any debate about the total number of fishermen in East Midnapore and South 24 Parganas.

There is also another footnote. Nayachar will destroy mangrove forestry. So ‘No to Nayachar’ The people putting up this demand have a very imperfect knowledge of environmental issues, limited to mere terms like mangrove forestry. There is a famous proverb: empty vessels make much noise. In the legends it is said that young Kalidasa (the famous poet) was such a blockhead that he was told not to open his mouth when he went to the court to marry the princess. But he disobeyed his mentors and blundered. These men are no better. For their information, famous environment scientist and former vice chancellor Ananda Deb Mukhopadhyay has categorically stated that there is a mangrove forest in the northern part of Nayachar. Its total area is merely two and a half square kilometers. In the eastern and western part there are forest areas which will continue to remain. There is no possibility of their destruction. These are protected areas and will remain so. That has been precisely planned already.

Why will the livelihood of the fishermen be under threat? Oil refinery in Haldia was established forty years ago. It is running in a fine fashion. There has been no problem. Has the water been polluted? Do the fishermen there face any sort of problems? What is happening in Mangalore? A petrochemical refinery is very much there. The wastes are purified first and then discharged into the sea.

Midstream and downstream industries will be set up at Nayachar. The effluents will first be purified in these industries. Then they will be discharged at a distance of 700-800 kilometres away, without affecting the aquatic habitat in any manner.

The groundwater will also be safe. Fresh groundwater deposits are located 240-295 metres below the ground level at Nayachar. Freshwater is pumped up to the limit of 270 metres. The industrial waste from Nayachar will be dumped at a depth of more than 295 metres. So there is absolutely no reason to worry at all.

Do the people who are blindly criticising and opposing the project have a minimum idea about how, with every passing day, technological advances are improving even further? Many of them are completely unaware of the fact that the waste of midstream and downstream industries are totally purified. They are still opposing! Opposition for opposition's sake!! They have a single-point agenda. Let's stop Nayachar like Nandigram. We won't let any industry to be set up in Bengal. Let's start walking backwards!!!

Let's chant in unison:
My heart is aching
My hands are shaking
I can't stay at home!
The new project at Nayachar
Ticks like time bomb!

ULTRAS OF THE
WORLD UNITE!

The SFI has won the Presidency College Students Union elections bagging 38 seats. This college is a premier academic institution and its students are considered to be the advanced students of the state. As a former state president of the organisation, it is indeed a matter of great pleasure for me. A media person asked me that earlier SFI happened to be very powerful in that college when daughters of Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and Anil Biswas studied there. Is the phenomenon again repeating itself as the children of some leaders are again studying there? I had a very clear cut answer for them. It is a matter of pride for us that our children are working as SFI activists. But it is to be always kept in mind that 72 SFI comrades had contested the union polls. If I assume that at the minimum four SFI comrades had worked for each candidate, then the number of SFI comrades participating in the union elections amounts to a minimum of 360. The effort of so many comrades cannot be undermined.

The victory run of SFI is not only restricted at Presidency alone. Everywhere throughout the state victories are being registered. Till February 13, 2009 elections to 327 college and university students unions have been organised. The SFI emerged victorious in 267 unions. Two other Left student organisations have won two unions. The opposition put together has bagged 58 unions.

What has been the result of student’s union polls in those districts where the Left Front suffered a setback in the panchayat elections? Till date, SFI has won 14 out of 19 unions in East Midnapore, 16 out of 23 (one Left student organisation) in South 24 Parganas and five out of five in Malda. One very interesting fact has to be remembered. The entire anti-Left student organisations joined hands together against SFI irrespective of their political colour and so called ideology. Ultra Left, Ultra Right, Ultra Hindu, Ultra Muslims are now all together in the same boat. All Ultras of the world unite!! But who can stop the march of the vibrant youth?

THE STRUGGLE
WILL NOT STOP

CPI(M) leader in Singur, Suhrid Dutta, has got bail at last. His bail petition was sanctioned by the Kolkata High Court. The reason for such a long delay will definitely be known later. There is no doubt that a huge conspiracy was hatched. There was an indication at that very moment when the case was snatched from CID and handed over to CBI. The past record of the CBI has not been clean enough to make it a completely reliable body. If the CID is under the control of the state government, the CBI is also under the control of the central government. And in the Indian context, a government represents a political party or a political alliance. The past record of the CBI is littered with charges of callousness, inefficiency and partiality. One example is the case of stealing of Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel Prize souvenir. Till date it has not been recovered nor have the miscreants been caught. In West Bengal, one CBI officer by the name of Sahay was arrested. Recently the Supreme Court has pulled up the CBI in the case of disproportionate assets of Mulayam Singh Yadav. The thrashing was not of a very sweet kind.

Recently the investigating CBI officer Partha Sarathi Bose was arrested on the charge of taking bribe. We, the CPI(M) MP's, had met the prime minister and submitted a memorandum demanding an enquiry against this particular officer. We want to know how much bribe this officer took and from whom for falsely implicating Suhrid Dutta in Tapasi Malik murder case? How much money did he take for guarding the real culprits? In the suicide note of Rizwanur Rehman, the name of Javed Khan was very much there. How much money was taken for guarding and saving him? Who has been the Sarathi (charioteer) of this Partha? Let the entire list come up.

We are of the belief that truth shall prevail, come what may. Rabindranath Tagore wrote about a century back:

The truth does not die
Even if it goes to oblivion for centuries
Truth can be ignored but not killed
No insult can sway its stand
No strike can displace it

We will continue our forward march on the path of truth. The attacks on us will be fiercer day by day. In the last few months in the Jharkhand bordering areas of our state we have lost 36 of our comrades. Our Party district secretary of CoochBehar has faced fierce attacks. There has even been an attempt on the life of our chief minister. Mass mobilisation is under way in the farms, factories, schools, colleges, offices, courts, everywhere for waging a protracted resistance against these blood-thirsty, gruesome monsters.

We are the tireless marchers in the eternal path of glorious struggle.

We are the torch bearers of time.

Our struggle will continue.