Bengal has no place for saffron: Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee

TNN | Jan 4, 2015, 12.24 AM IST

KOLKATA: Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee took stage on Saturday to reassure party supporters that the Left won't allow the BJP to strike roots in Bengal without a political battle.

"Trinamool has lost its moral right to rule Bengal. Even if the media wants the BJP to replace Trinamool, this is not going to happen. Bengal has no place for the saffron," Bhattacharjee said, while speaking at the 48th anniversary of the CPI(M)'s Bengali mouthpiece Ganashakti.

"There is no security in the state. Trinamool Congress has taken Bengal 10 years back. It is a retrogression. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee has created a precedent. A state minister is now in jail. Who are those who are showering petals on him?" Bhattacharjee said.

But, the CPM leader reminded that it doesn't mean that BJP will emerge as the alternative. Bengal has a rich history of struggles — land struggle, Operation Barga initiative, movement for democracy that took shape in formation of the United Front and later Left Front. The BJP didn't figure anywhere in this course of history. Shyamaprasad Mookherjee was a great leader but his descendants couldn't make headway in Bengal," said Bhattacharjee.

The CPM politburo member then pointed to the right wing economic policies of the Narendra Modi government apart from his usual criticism against majority communalism. "BJP is taking the same route the Congress pursued. Modi is doing it vigorously. The BJP has with them RSS. Such policies are deepening the divide between the rich and poor," the former CM said. 

Bhattacharjee cites this as a major contradiction that will heighten further. "There are many rich people in the country. So are the upwardly mobile middle class that swear by Modi. They want more money, new car, new flat, shopping mall...On the other hand, there are a huge number of poor people who can't spend for treatment and education. The confrontation between the two income groups is inevitable. We are for the poor. Let us see where the BJP stands," the former CM said.

The Historic Legacy of the Left Front Government

By Prakash Karat

When the Left Front government headed by Comrade Jyoti Basu was sworn into office on June 21, 1977, no one had expected or known that history would be made by this government. If any one had predicted that the Left Front would continue to rule for more than 30 years, there would have been none to believe such a claim. Yet, this is what the Left Front government accomplished. It lasted for 34 years without a break. This, in itself, is a unique record.

The Left Front won the elections in 1977 after a prolonged period of struggles and repression of the Left. The 1972 Assembly elections were falsified and rigged by the Congress with the help of the police and the administration. Between 1971 and 1977, a reign of semi-fascist terror prevailed during which 1,400 members and supporters of the CPI (M) and the Left were killed. The country as a whole came under Emergency imposed by the Indira Gandhi government during which democratic rights were suppressed.

The repression on the CPI (M) and the Left was unleashed because of the militant struggles of the peasantry for land and the rising tide of movements of the working people. The CPI (M) and the Left Front won a big victory as the people swept away the hated Congress regime and voted wholeheartedly for the Left Front’s programme and policies.

This wave in favour of the Left Front still does not account for the longevity of the Left Front government for more than three decades. The Left Front won seven successive elections getting on each occasion two-thirds of the seats in the Assembly. This is a remarkable record of popular support and endorsement. Under the Left Front government, land reforms were implemented which benefited millions of peasants and bargadars; for the first time, panchayats were made into popular institutions with the participation of those who belong to the dispossessed rural classes; the rights of the working class and the working people were assured.

All these gave a new dignity and confidence to the working people. Left Front rule also began the fight back against the economic backwardness which had been imposed on West Bengal and Eastern India – a legacy of both colonial rule and the uneven nature of capitalist development in independent India. The Left Front showed in practice what secularism means in essence and spirit. West Bengal became a bastion of communal harmony. All these were achieved despite the serious limitations of running a state government within a system controlled by the big bourgeoisie and the landlords. Despite the fact that a state government has limited powers and State power rests with the Central government, the Left Front government had major achievements in the spheres like agriculture which is a state subject.

Further, the Left Front government was always under threat from the domestic and external reactionary forces. The Purulia arms drop of 1996 illustrates to what extent they could go to undermine the Left Front government. The Left Front government faced the hostility of successive governments at the Centre with a few exceptions. It survived and continued only because of the unstinted support to the people of West Bengal and the democratic consciousness which grew in the rest of the country which would not have tolerated any attempt to topple the Left Front government undemocratically.

After the defeat in the May 2011 Assembly elections, a concerted effort is being made to negate the achievements of the Left Front government in the past three decades. The electoral defeat is being interpreted as the people’s rejection of all that has been accomplished by the Left Front government. This is a motivated attack by the ideological and political opponents of the Left. It is necessary for them to paint the Left Front rule in dark colours if they are to try and reverse the gains made by the people. After the euphoria of the victory of the TMC led combine, efforts will be made to undo the gains of land reforms. The old dominant classes will try to reassert. With the Congress-TMC coalition at the Centre following neo-liberal policies, in West Bengal, behind the cloak of populism, efforts will be made to push through measures which will affect the livelihood of the people and erode their rights.

The present wave of violence unleashed against the CPI (M) and the Left Front in order to weaken it is a prelude to what can be expected to follow. The class forces which represent the TMC combine are making a systematic effort to kill, maim, intimidate and destroy the organisational framework that is the basis for the toiling people of West Bengal to struggle and assert their rights.

The gains made by the working people – the peasants, the bargadars, the agricultural workers, the working class and the lower middle classes – under Left Front rule have to be defended. It will not be easy for the ruling classes to rollback the land reforms and other gains as the past experience of Kerala shows. The struggles of the working class and other sections of the working people to defend their rights and livelihood, for democratic rights and to fight back the anti-people neo-liberal policies will constitute the next chapter in the history of the Left Front in West Bengal.

While organising the working people, advancing the class struggle and defending democracy, the historic legacy of the Left Front governments will always be a bulwark of support. Those who have written off the Left Front and declared its obituary will be proved wrong.

GANASHAKTI

21st June, 2011

Mandate against 34-year-old Left rule: Ganashakti editorial

Kolkata, May 14 (PTI): Accepting the poll verdict, CPI(M) today said that there was no denying that the mandate was clearly against the 34-year-old Left Front rule in West Bengal."There was high expectation among left Front workers to see the eighth Left Front government coming into being, but it was not fulfilled,"

CPI(M) mouthpiece ''Ganashakti'' said in its editorial column."The Left Front has accepted the verdict and decided to play the role of a responsible opposition group in accordance with democratic traditions," it said.According to the daily, the Front would analyse the poll reverses and try to identify the lapses of the Left Front."It is the responsibility to win back confidence of the people by correcting the lapses and reach the doorsteps of the people."

Alleging that after 34 years, "a semi-fascist power aligned with extreme anti-people policies" had come to power in the state, the CPI(M) daily said "there is apprehension about move to curb the rights of the working class."

The editorial professed fear that the achievements in the Left Front rule in last 34 years might be undone under the new regime."People''s interest is not safe in the hands of the new regime, particularly land reforms, democratic panchayat system, development in agriculture, unity and integrity and communal amity." PTI PB PC

Incredible Strength of Left Front

By A Correspondent

http://www.ganashakti.com/index.php

A long way to go to deliver “power to the people”. Keeping this in view the first Left Front government, led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), assumed office in West Bengal in 1977. After taking charge of the first Front government as Chief Minister Jyoti Basu reminded all the Left parties in the coalition government of their task with a resolve of providing immediate relief to the people who, according to him, “is the last word”. At the time of taking office Jyoti Basu said that the Left Front was fully conscious of the duties and responsibilities that had been entrusted to it by the people through a historical electoral verdict .He declared “ our government would not be run from the Writers’ Buildings alone ; it would maintain close touch with the representative organizations of the people in order to serve them effectively.”

Since 1977 the Left Front has received overwhelming majority in all the seven successive Assembly elections setting a political record of steering the administration of a State for such a long, uninterrupted period.

What is the incredible strength behind this CPI(M)-led Left Front with which it is going to face another Assembly polls soon ? To get an answer one has to go through the pages of the latest publication of the Ganashakti entitled – Left Front Government : Keyword is People. The 736-page book traces long history of how left parties under the leadership of the CPI(M) have been brought under one umbrella through a series of mass movements in West Bengal and how the unity among them has been kept intact in running a government on the basis of a common economic programme. Historical documents along with valuable articles of Marxist leaders and theoreticians have enriched the volume which is sure to act as a pathfinder to young party workers.

From the beginning the Left Front government has been carrying out its programme of work with a resolve to provide immediate relief to the people, take the State forward on the path of development, decentralize the power structure, and thus involve people in the day-to-day work of the government. Of the 34 years it has in power, the Left Front government was led by Jyoti Basu for over 23 years until he stepped down in favour of Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in October 2000. That it has kept the promises and gained the people’s trust is evident from the fact that the Front has been voted to power seven successive times with massive mandates. This is a world record for an elected Left government. Effective and purposive governance, successful conduct of coalition politics, political stability that was achieved and firm adherence to secularism are widely seen as the reasons for its success.

Tracing historical background of the formation of the Left Front, one gets an idea of how the CPI(M), experienced with the United Front governments of 1967 and 1969 stood the party in good stead. This period was followed by a dark phase when the Left parties had to function in an atmosphere devoid of democratic rights , under the Congress government. It was during this long period of struggle for democratic rights, civil liberty, social justice, agrarian reform and industrial resurgence that the Left Front took shape.

http://ganashakti.com/news-analysis/news-analysis-singular/article/incredible-strength-of-left-front.html

'Bamfront Sarkar: Manush-e shesh katha' (Left Front Govt: Keyword is People) released

Marxists publish book to woo masses in poll year

2011-02-06 05:30:00, IANS

Kolkata: In an apparent bid to woo the masses in an election year, West Bengal's ruling Marxists have brought out a 728-page book on the state's left movement and the Left Front government.

At a time when they are going through perhaps their toughest times since coming to power nearly 34 years ago, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) mouthpiece Ganashakti has published the book containing writings of eminent people like Nobel prize winning economist Amartya Sen and late Marxist patriarch Jyoti Basu.

The book is titled 'Bamfront Sarkar: Manush-e shesh katha' (Left Front Govt: Keyword is People) and was released on Saturday.

Articles by economists Prabhat Patnaik and Jayati Ghosh, as also by the party's founding fathers like E.M.S. Namboodiripad, B.T. Ranadive, M. Basavpunnaiya, Harekrishna Konar, Promode Dasgupta and Nripen Chakraborty have found their pride of place in the compendium priced at Rs.300.

West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee has also penned a piece 'Bampanthai Path' (Leftist ideology is the only way) on the current political situation and the challenges faced by the Left Front.

Amartya Sen's research-based article 'Primary Schooling: A report on improvements and problems in West Bengal schools' written several years back is part of the compilation that also includes several important documents detailing the CPI(M)'s outlook on the Left Front governments in West Bengal and Tripura and the Left Democratic Front regime in Kerala.

'The book provides an insight through the pen of our leaders into the mass struggles which brought the Left Front to power, the coalition government's experiences, the alternative policies unfolded by the Left Front with a pro-people approach, and how it is going forward by fighting against a plethora of conspiracies and attacks,' state CPI(M) secretary Biman Bose says in the preface.

'Some articles containing the views of experts on the Left Front government and its various activities are also a part of the book that would benefit those wishing to know the origin, initiatives and approach of the ruling combine,' he says.

'But this book can never be considered a comprehensive evaluation of the Left Front government,' he adds.

Careful not to annoy other Left Front partners, Bose promised that write-ups of their leaders would be included in the next edition of the book. 'The book is incomplete without their writings. In future we have to include such pieces.'

The Left Front came to power in the state in 1977 riding on the anti-Congress wave sweeping the country immediately after the Emergency, and it has ruled without a break all these years.

However, over the last two and half years, the red citadel has crumbled with the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress winning a series of elections to the rural and urban civic bodies and the Lok Sabha. The back-to-back electoral defeats have triggered speculation that the Left Front could be on its way out in the state assembly elections slated for May.

Learn from past mistakes, Buddhadeb tells Communists

Left Front Chairman Biman Bose releasing in Kolkata on Saturday a compilation of select essays and documents written by CPI(M) leaders and political commentators outlining the Communist movement .

By Raktima Bose

The Hindu, Date: 06/02/2011

Kolkata: Criticising the Trinamool Congress for trying to mislead the people of West Bengal through slander campaign against the Left Front government and its achievements over the last 34 years, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in a recent write-up has emphasised need for the State's Communists to undertake self-introspection and learn from past mistakes so as to be able to face the “chaotic and violent” forces trying to dislodge the present government.

Titled ‘Left is the sole pathway', the article encapsulates Mr. Bhattacharjee's views on an array of issues - land reforms, agriculture, industrialisation, violence perpetrated by the Maoists and other separatist forces in alleged collusion with the Trinamool Congress, violence in educational institutions and the need for self-introspection.

The write-up is part of a compilation of essays and documents written by various past and present CPI(M) leaders like Jyoti Basu, E.M.S. Namboodripad, Pramod Dasgupta, Prakash Karat and Manik Sarkar among others that has been published in the form of a book titled “Left Front Government: People's is the last word”. The compendium was released by the State's Left Front Committee chairman Biman Bose on Saturday.

The first edition of the book does not feature any article written by leaders of the three other alliance partners of the CPI(M) in the Left Front. Mr. Bose assured that the articles will be included in the second edition.

Slamming the Trinamool Congress for allegedly trying to obscure the Left Front's contribution in the State's land reform movement, through negative campaigns, he said that the TMC is trying to upset the State government's efforts for industrialisation and urbanisation.

“Does the Trinamool Congress call for ‘change' mean pulling the plug on all opportunities of employment for students and send them back to the farms? Closing down roads, factories, schools and colleges is the essence of Trinamool Congress ‘change',” Mr. Bhattacharjee said.

Saying that the State government has learnt its lessons from the Singur and Nandigram incidents, he assured that the government will act “cautiously” in future and “strike a balance between agriculture and industry”.

Rubbishing Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee's claims of creating one lakh employment opportunities through railway projects as “false promises”, Mr. Bhattacharjee charged the Trinamool Congress with colluding with the Maoists and holding both covert and overt meetings with them.

“The Opposition is trying to spread the Maoist violence throughout the State and we are trying our best to stop them at the western borders…the Trinamool Congress has brought this danger to the State and they have to answer the people,” he said and added that the party has also joined hands with various separatist forces to divide the State.

Admitting that “misbehaviour and arrogance” of a section of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) workers have alienated people from the party, Mr. Bhattacharjee said that the leaders and workers should accept criticism and try to mend their mistakes.

INTERVIEW WITH BUDDHADEB BHATTACHARYA ON 33 YEARS OF LEFT FRONT GOVT IN BENGAL

'The Meaning of So-Called
“Change” is Anarchy'

The Left Front government in West Bengal has achieved the distinction of continuing for 33 years at a stretch. It has started the journey of 34th year on June 21, 2010. In an interview to Ganashakti, chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has highlighted some issues in the context of present situation in the state. Below we give excerpts of the interview:

On the recent defeats in polls

The Left Front has gained majority support for consecutive seven terms from 1977. The results of last Lok Sabha elections was an exception. Same trends have been noticed in other elections thereafter. After the Lok Sabha elections, we have reviewed the results. We have identified the areas in government’s planning and actions where there are mistakes. For example, we are now alert on the question of land acquisition. We will protect the fertile lands while non fertile lands would be used for industrialisation. In this case too, we have to be much more sincere on compensation and rehabilitation. If the poor people feel ignored in any area of government and panchayat activities, we have to correct those mistakes. We have to be more sincere about the development of minorities.

We have also identified problems in the organisation of Party. There have been instances of undesirable activities which have dented Party’s image. We have decided to rectify quickly.

Is there a problem in the relationship with the peasantry?

The Left Front was born through continuous peasant movement along with the movements of workers, employees, teachers, students, youth, women. Left Front has progressed through land struggle and struggle for sharecroppers’ rights. The peasantry was deprived in the Congress regime. They were given due honour during the Left Front period. Around 11 lakh acres of land was distributed to the poor and marginal farmers through land reforms. More than 15 lakh sharecroppers were recorded. Overwhelming sections of the peasantry support the Left. One aspect of the Singur and Nandigram episode was our target for industrialisation and generation of employment. But a section of the peasantry and the general people did not accept our stand. To them transfer of land for industries became major concern while they did not comprehend the alternatives. We have now become more careful. The policies for acquisition of land for industries and rehabilitation must be made more realistic, so that the peasantry and the people in general accept that and participate voluntarily.

On the continuous obstruction by opposition parties

It is true that the organised obstruction to resist governmental projects has increased after the last Lok Sabha elections, for example, in Nayachar petrochemicals project, in power project in Katwa, expansion of national highway etc. Despite this, we have progressed during this period. The agricultural production has increased. More than Rs 7000 crore have been invested in industries in the last one year. Clusters for small industries have been constructed. The number of schools and colleges has increased while new universities have been started. Very soon work of Sidho-Kanu University will start.

It would have been correct for the opposition parties to support the government in developmental activities. However, they have continuously put obstacles. Whatever be the situation, we will forge ahead with our programme. We cannot remain idle.

On the priorities of the Left Front government

The priorities can be best summarised as follows: to take the success of states’ agriculture to a new high banking on the success of the land reforms in the state; to fasten up the pace of the process of industrialisation in the state; to advance in the field of human resource development through advancing the success in education, health and related areas. Our topmost emphasis is on the socio-economic development of backward sections, including schedule castes, schedule tribes and minorities.

We have emphasised in distribution of homestead lands in rural and urban areas. Emphasis has been given on employment generation.

On Maoist terror

One of the major problems in the Jangal Mahal area is the terror and annihilation campaign unleashed by the 'Maoists'. We are fighting them both politically and administratively. But the complexity of the situation is that the main opposition party and some organisations are encouraging them either directly or indirectly. We treat this problem as a political problem.

Of course, the problem has an all-India perspective. 'Maoists' are active in seven to eight states. As they have chosen poorer areas as their terrain, it is necessary to initiate socio-economic measures to isolate them. It is also necessary to face them politically apart from activating the police and administration. It is a long term fight and there is no easy solution.

On the so-called slogan of “change”

What is the real meaning of so-called slogan of “change”? Whatever has been done by us, would be changed retrogressively? Will the lands which have come in the hands of the peasants be returned back to landlords? Will the investments for industries be returned? Will the decentralisation of power through panchayats and urban local bodies be dismantled? The people of West Bengal have marched forward in the last 33 years. What are the alternative policies of the opposition? Anarchy can not bring any real, meaningful change. We want to march towards the light, not retard back into darkness.

Energizes the Leftists and Communists all over the World

By V. S. Achuthanandan

Chief Minister, Kerala

Published in GANASHAKTI, 21st June, 2008

The left democratic Government in West Bengal is completing 31 years by 21st June. This is an event that energizes the Leftists and Communists all over the world. It was in Kerala that for the first time in history, a Communist party was brought into power through a general election. This was of course an event that generated a new zest among the progressive movements sending a shock to the colonial forces at the same time. Within two years after the Government was sworn in, the furore that accompanied the tabling of the Land reforms Bill and the Education Bill, led to the so-called “liberation struggle” that eventually resulted in the infamous decision of the Central government to dismiss the Communist government. The Central government behaved as if the communists will never emerge in anywhere in India in near future. The single party rule of Congress was at its peak then. While the Communists lost the election that followed, they managed interestingly to increase the percentage of votes they polled. Again in 1967, Governments emerged in Kerala and West Bengal under the leadership of Communist Parties.

In 1977, after the dark era of emergency, a Left Front Government was again brought into power in West Bengal under the leadership of Com. Jyothi Basu. The Congress Government led by Sidharth Sankar Ray that had been in power since 1972 had unleashed a semi fascist regime in Bengal. Starvation and starvation death and similar hardships were the facets of Sidhartha Sankar Ray Government. It was in fact an announcement that the CPI(M) and the left parties will never be allowed to rise again. Also, regime in Bengal during the first half of the seventies was a dress rehearsal of the emergency period.

Then the very first instance after the emergency was properly used by the people of West Bengal to teach Congress a lesson by giving them a hard blow ensuring minimum probability for congress to resume power. The CPI(M) gained a clear parliamentary majority in 1977. The 1980 elections for the Lok Sabha and those at the state level in 1982 have further confirmed CPI(M)’s secure electoral base in West Bengal. The West Bengal Government have improved its status further and is going on. Apart from Kerala and West Bengal, the CPI(M) Government in Tripura has been in power for nearly three decades. It is the alternate policies that these Governments follow in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura that makes them different from the Congress and BJP lead Governments that follow anti-people policies.

It can be observed that the political situation prevailing in Kerala is that there has not been an instance of the Left Government coming into power in successive elections as can be seen in Bengal and Tripura. Here the Left and Right Front Governments come into power alternately. This is the major hurdle that prevents the continuation of the pro people endeavours and comprehensive developmental activities based on alternate policies. In the developmental front, the Left Democratic Government has accomplished in being exemplary to the whole nation. Still it has not been possible to ensure a sustainable fifty percent vote for the Left. We in Kerala are moving ahead with a clear intention to achieve a sustainable Left regime as has been achieved by the West Bengal and Tripura Governments long back.

The existing Government in Kerala has crossed 25 months in power. From the beginning itself the LDF Government has made it clear that the State cannot go ahead without increasing the production in agricultural and industrial sectors. The most essential elements for the sustainable development of the State are the revitalisation of sick industries, starting new industries, solving agricultural crisis and increasing production. It is a matter of pride that we could start at basically in the aforesaid matters.

The Government are giving utmost emphasis on resolving food crisis. Here, it is right mentioning that the Government of West Bengal has helped Kerala by providing rice at a reduced price. Encouraging paddy cultivation by conserving at least the remaining paddy fields is our aim. Approval of the bill preventing reclamation of paddy fields and wetlands is as part of it. A comprehensive programme is in the pipeline to enhance production of food grains and other food materials.

When the Left Democratic Government came into power, the procurement of paddy was nominal. And the rate was only Rs.7 per kg. The LDF government enhanced the rate up to Rs.10 by this year and thus the procurement has been vitalised. As a result, a 30 per cent increase in production at Kuttanad and Palakkad could be achieved.

It is worth mentioning that the various steps taken by the government from its very inception could almost wipe out the suicide tendency of farmers. Three districts of Kerala out of the 36 in the country included in Central Government’s list where severe farmer suicides were reported, have now been exempted from the list. The remaining 33 districts still witness farmer suicide that illustrates the deference between government of Kerala and the rest in India.
Now the Government is striving to hold on the price hike by strengthening public distribution system through Supplyco and Consumerfed. Rice shops have been started with moderate rate. The State Government grants subsidy without any reservation in order to intervene the market.
The Central Government is persecuting the State by cutting down 87 per cent of the APL rice share of Kerala. The State Government are staging strong pressure against this and are taking all measures possible to avoid scarcity of rice.
Phenomenal task has been going on to recover government land from encroachers. In Munnar alone, it recovered twelve thousand acres of land and demolished about hundred unauthorised huge buildings and resorts. In the State as a whole, more than 15,000 acres of land has been recovered.

The legendary event of evacuation of encroachments is an unprecedented one in the history of Kerala. The recovered and other surplus land will be distributed to the landless. Each family should have land, home, electricity and drinking water- is the policy of the Government. EMS Total Housing Scheme has been started for all homeless in the State. Within the next three years, Kerala will become a total housing State. One-acre land for each 1717 adivasi families has been distributed in Aralam farm. Medical Treatment for tribals becomes free of cost.

The Right Front ridiculed the Left Front as anti-developmental during the election time. There existed a circumstance to call us as anti-developmental. The hot protest and agitations against unscrupulous exploitation of land, water and nature ware viewed as anti-developmental. Allegations raised against the Smart City project were important among them. The opposition demanded that the Government might go ahead only without handing over the Infopark, ensuring fair price for the land and rejecting the condition that there should not be any other IT park in Ernakulam. Those statements holding the vast interest of the State, were portrayed as anti-developmental. Then the Smart City became the central slogan of the assembly election.
Now, the Smart City is going to be a reality. Relentless attempt to materialise the project protecting the noble intentions of the State has been undertaken. Thus great modifications in favour of the State could be made in the stands of TECOM. A quantum jump in the field of IT sector could be achieved within the past one and a half year. For establishing Techno City, 507 acres of land is acquiring in Thiruvananthapuram. Technopark sees a development where another 100 acres of land is being acquired. Steps have been taken to establish IT parks at various districts. Many IT companies have already started new ventures in Technopark and Infopark. The target is the creation of two lakh job opportunities in the IT sector. However, the present position reveals that the employment opportunities will be many fold. 40,000 more job opportunities will be generated within next three years at Infopark, the very institution that was decided to handover free of cost by the previous government. Projects are being implemented to make the State totally computer literate. The plan, Akshaya Kendras in every village is advancing.

All welfare pensions have been hiked upto Rs.200 at a stretch and the arrears are disbursed. Hundreds of thousands of labourers have been brought under Welfare Funds including about two lakh small scale plantation workers.

The Shops and Establishments Labourer Welfare Fund Law gives solace to one million families in the unorganised sector. This law ensures job security, pension, family pension, leave, delivery leave et. al. Likewise a law which fixes pension and welfare fund for tens of thousands of dairy farmers has also been implemented.

Preliminary works have already started for metro rail in Kochi. Primary steps for suburban train services in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode have been taken. The waterway development project between the tail ends of Kerala has been triggered off. Kollam – Kottappuram waterway, a part of the National Waterway – 3 has been commissioned and the work for Kottappuram-Neeleswaram waterway is going on. Works for Kollam- Kovalam water way project has also launched. The LNG terminal at Kochi, which was in seesaw, has been got out from all obstacles owing to the relentless effort of the state government.

The State Government could reciprocate strongly against the negligence of the Centre and could fetch a large number of projects, which were entitled to us. Progress could be achieved in bringing issues of Kerala to the notice of the Centre better than earlier. Strong protest has been registered against the formation of Salem Railway Division by dividing Palakkad Division. Thus the Railway Ministry was forced to enlarge the boundary of the Palakkad division from their earlier decision.

This protest opens up a way for getting a coach factory. Since the railway reached Kerala one and half century ago, no important employment generating institution has been launched here. A coach factory assigned for Kerala a quarter century back had been shifted to Kapurthala in Punjab in the eleventh hour. Now, when we extended great pressure in the case of Salem Division issue, Central Government have agreed to set up a coach factory in Kerala to pacify us. It has already been decided that a modern railway coach factory to be set up with an investment of around four thousand crore rupees at Kanchikkode in Palakkad. For the past fifty years, no such huge Central investment has come in Kerala in the public sector. State Government have initiated primary steps for acquiring land needed for the coach factory.

Rejuvenation and enthusiasm regained in Industries sector. The government could reopen almost all the closed industries. Lock out was common in the past when an industry exhausted with loss. Now the number of profiteering public sector industry is raised to twenty seven from the mere twelve. Many new industries have been started.

New projects came in tourism sector. Kerala becomes one of the most important tourism destinations of the world. Endeavour for generating additional 500 mega watt power within three years started. Special attention has been given to utilise non-traditional energy sources and wind energy project commissioned at Idukki.

The corruption free and prosperous Kerala that is rushing towards a comprehensive development -the LDF governance of 24 months could make a giant leap in the journey towards this. The background is set for a comprehensive development. The Government could dispel disappointment from all walks of life and could rejuvenate it. Now onwards it is the time of progress.