[Marxistindia] Press statement of West Bengal State Committee

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                            Press Statement 



  On the CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee Meeting held on 11-12 June
                                  2009



The 13thsession of the West Bengal State Committee of CPI(M) was held on
11-12 June 2009. The main agenda of this meeting was to discuss the
results of the 15thLok Sabha elections in West Bengal and the future
tasks in the post election period. The General Secretary of the Party,
Prakash Karat and Politbureau members Sitaram Yechury and SR Pillai were
present in the meeting. The meeting was presided over by Benoy Konar. 

According due respect towards the mandate of the people, the state
committee deeply analyzed the political, organizational as well as the
administrative reasons behind the election results. Drawing lessons from
the election results, the state committee has decided to take up
comprehensive rectification programmes on all fronts.

In the elections, the Left parties took the initiative to form an
electoral understanding with non-Congress, non-BJP parties. However, the
Third Front could not gain the confidence of the people. The attempt to
unite all democratic and patriotic forces on the basis of an
anti-imperialist ideological political stand in order to meet the
electoral challenge, was not very successful. In the absence of a
credible alternative force to meet the challenges of communalism and
terrorism, the people voted for the Congress for a stable government.
Some initiatives taken by the UPA government under the pressure of the
Left also helped the Congress. All these factors affected West Bengal
along with the other states in the country.

In our state, all kinds of divisive anarchist forces along with the
ultra-left and ultra-right reactionary forces forged an alliance under
the leadership of the Trinamool Congress centering on the issues of
Singur and Nandigram. The electoral alliance between the Congress and
the Trinamool Congress provided further fillip to this.

The state committee has opined that the party’s organizational
weaknesses have been reflected in the election results. Unprincipled
activities, lack of mass contact and weaknesses in building up movements
on a consistent basis, have all played their part in denting the support
of the party among the people. The image of the party has been damaged.
The state committee has called for serious initiatives to rectify the
shortcomings. In spite of huge attacks against the party, we have
secured the support of over 1 crore 85 lakh people in the state. 42
comrades have been martyred since the elections were announced. After
the declaration of results these attacks have increased manifold.
Through the process of self-introspection, there is an urgent need to
strengthen the party and counter such attacks. 

The state committee also opined that some neglect and sluggishness have
crept into the work related directly to the people, particularly to the
interests of the poor and working masses. There are shortcomings in the
functioning of the Government, panchayats and municipalities with regard
to maintaining proper class outlook. There have also been attempts to
block the implementation of every programme of the government over the
last two years. As a result the implementation of pro-people programmes
of the government has been adversely affected. 

The state committee has said that the divisive forces are receiving
support of the reactionaries both within the country and outside. There
are attempts to create divisions within the poor people by raking up
divisive issues. This divisive agenda needs to be resisted with a proper
class perspective.

As far as the immediate tasks in the post election situation is
concerned, the state committee has said that attempts are being made to
mount large scale attacks on the Party, the Left Front government and
the people thereby creating an atmosphere of anarchy and terror in the
state. The party has to resist this attack by forging even greater unity
both at the political as well as organizational level. 

The aim of the opposition is to create divisions within the democratic
and working people. The task is to unite the people by breaking these
divisions. The party has to reach the people as their true friend. The
work for the poor and the working masses should be given more priority
in the tasks of the party, mass organization and the administration.
Immediate and bold steps should be taken to stop non-communist
activities and behaviour at every level of the party.

53 comrades participated in the discussion in the state committee.
Summing up the discussion, Biman Bose identified certain programs as
immediate tasks. In order to protect democracy and democratic rights of
the people, we should take up the programme of movement immediately. The
attempt to create anarchy in the state has to be resisted by organizing
the people. State wide movements will be organized on the issues of
price rise, universal public distribution system, providing BPL card to
all poor families, changing the centre defined BPL criteria, expedite
the process of granting SC/ST certificates, expediting the programmes
for minority welfare and implementation of the rural electrification
programme.

Participating in the discussion, General Secretary Prakash Karat said
that while the third front has not been acceptable to the people in this
election, the necessity of creating a third alternative has not ended.
Although the present situation is one of adversity, the Party and the
Left will be able to overcome it. 



Kolkata

12th June 2009