We are once again witnessing an active drive on the part of the CPI(M) leaders and ministers of the Left Front Govt. in West Bengal, including the Chief Minister, to defend the illegal and unlawful acts of the police in the state.

Recent arrests of People’s War (PW) activists and sympathizers and the suicide of Abhijit Sinha, following his arrest and police inquiries, have raised a few pertinent questions. How can the police arrest someone at midnight without a warrant? How can the police search the house of a political activist without a search warrant? There are definite Supreme Court directives that the police would have to have a warrant for arrest, and a search warrant for house search. Moreover, police is obliged to tell the relatives of an arrested person where he/she is being taken. The police officers and other officials involved in an arrest or a search must disclose their identities and are bound to issue arrest related memos to the relatives.

The recent arrests and house searches executed by the West Bengal police have completely violated these directives. At the same time these nefarious acts secured strong arguments in their support from different quarters of the Left Front Govt..

The ex-Chief Minister, Jyoti Basu, said, “Arrests of people for their alleged links to PW are in no way illegal. For the sake of investigation the police can at times arrest people for interrogation without any warrant.” (Ganashakti, 26th July 2002)

Another CPM leader Binoy Kongar remarked, “Arrests at night are nothing unusual. The police used to arrest us [during Congress rule] at night or early in the morning.” (Ganashakti, 11th July 2002)

The above statement at least makes it clear that the mode of operation of the police in the state during the Left Front rule has stayed the same as it was during the Congress rule. And it has been possible through active ratification by the CPM and the Left Front. Binoy Kongar further stated, “How can we dictate to the police what it should do and what not?” Such a remark implies openly endorsing the police acts of uninterrupted oppression and suppression. He even goes on to say, “It is hard to clearly define the limits and boundaries of human rights. The police uses its stick as an instrument of oppression only.”

The CPM leaders may not dictate ‘dos and do nots’ to the police. But they are clearly and unambiguously spelt out in various international and national institutions’ rules and court orders. The limits of human rights are also elaborately specified. When the CPM and Left Front leaders turn ignorant of these rules and say “The police uses its stick as an instrument of oppression”, they actually openly support the action of the police.

The double standards of the leaders can be witnessed from the fact that while on one hand they openly support the acts of the police, they state on the other hand, “Our struggle with PW is ideological” (Ganashakti, 19th July 2002) and “We would combat them through political struggles and organizational works only.” (Ganashakti, 11th July 2002)

However, CPM and Left Front Govt. are actually trying to confront the question through state terrorism only. The Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya proclaimed, “PW Group is a terrorist organization. The police would go ahead with its campaign till PW’s terror ceases.” (Ganashakti, 9th July 2002) Binoy Kongar called upon the people to “Dissociate from PW’s politics of individual annihilation and terror.” (Ganashakti, 11th July 2002) CPI(M) State Secretary stated, “We are against all sorts of politics of annihilation and terror.” (Ganashakti, 19th July 2002)

They have, however, on several occasions during the 25 years of their rule in the state attacked our party activists and cadres. Seven of our comrades were martyred by CPM’s attack at Gopalpur in Nadia district, and another four were martyred at Muluk in Birbhum district. In Koochbihar, our activists were assaulted with acid by CPM goons. Everywhere in the state, we are advancing through continual confrontation against CPM’s terror tactics.

CPM is thus the chief source of “politics of annihilation and terror” in the state. CPM deserves to be branded as the foremost ‘terrorist organization’ in the state currently.

The intelligentsia in the state is also vocal against the terror unleashed by the police. The CPM leadership is not ready to tolerate even their disapproval. Anil Biswas calls upon them not to speak or write anything that may “provide impetus to PW’s politics of annihilation and terror.” (Ganashakti, 25th July 2002) The message in the call is quite clear – the leadership wants them (intelligentsia) to at least shut up, if not uphold the deeds of the police. Anil Biswas reminds them “Weakening the Left Front Govt. automatically implies strengthening the reactionary forces. The intelligentsia should be cautious about it.” (Ganashakti, 18th July 2002)

Anil Biswas and his party, however, would not realize that they themselves are strengthening the reactionary forces – Trinamul Congress, Congress and BJP – in the state through their anti-people activities. They are actually going hand in glove with the reactionary forces to implement the ‘new’ economic policies in all spheres of life and with full swing, and in the process are washing away their differences, whatever residual is left, with the reactionary forces. POCA (Prevention of Organized Crime Act) replaces the central POTA in the state – the difference being only in their names, their core being the same. The same tools of suppression and repression of mass movements and class struggles are employed in the state as in any other part of the country. CPM, while acting as a saviour of the existing system, is digging its own grave.

We are against parliamentarianism as well as the line of individual annihilation. Their essence is the same, though they may seem to be at opposite poles. Both these lines help in the maintenance of the exploitative system. While one does it through administrative reforms, the other turns the masses into mere spectators. While our political struggle against the line of individual annihilation would continue, struggle against state terrorism is the principal issue of struggle in the present circumstances in West Bengal.

Protest Rally on 20th August, 2002 in Calcutta

Recently in West Bengal, the state Chief Minister and Police Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, after discussion with Deputy Prime Minister Advani, granted full and unrestricted rights to the police to suppress the so called ‘extremist activity’ in the state. As a result remarkable and unjustified arrest are taking place in the state.

A few days back in North Bengal, the Second Central Committee sought and got permission from the police for a march. The demonstrators in the march were, however, all arrested on the pretext of their ‘militant activity’. Eighty persons have been languishing in jail for over three months and have been denied bail on the basis of various false cases.

The Darjeeling District Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy was to hold a procession for which it had secured police permission. But at the last minute police refused permission and the Darjeeling District Office of the Party was encircled by the police to ensure that the procession does not start.

In Bankura district, AIKMS held a protest march to propagate the land struggle being carried on there. Police abruptly enforced Section 144 and arrested 25 people.

Now the police have started arresting political activists and even distant sympathizers of any progressive organization, and simply label them as MCC and PW members. Such arrests are made even without warrants.

Since the first week of July 2002, there has been a spurt of such arrests, particularly arrests of Prof. Kaushik Ganguly, a popular and renowned professor of Science College, Calcutta University and of Abhijit Sinha, a Govt. employee, who committed suicide after police torture. In Calcutta, there was widespread reaction after the suicide, particularly among intellectuals, and wide opposition to the West Bengal Govt.’s terror act. A hundred well known intellectuals gave a memorandum to the Govt. protesting against the police torture and arbitrary arrests.

Despite this, the arrests continued. The total number of political prisoners languishing in jails due to this current offensive is over eleven thousand. In North Bengal, political torture is being carried out by the police in the name of ‘tackling KLO (Kamtapuri Liberation Organization) militants’. Different newspapers are also widely covering the stories of political atrocities of the ‘Left’ Front Govt.

Under these circumstances, different CR organizations along with other democratic organizations decided to form a platform named Bandi Mukti Committee (Committee to free prisoners). The Committee held a massive rally in Calcutta on 20th August 2002. Apart from many ML parties, prominent individuals and a good section of youth attended the rally. More than 5000 people participated in the procession. The rally began from College Square at 2:30 p.m. It was to end in a protest meeting at Esplanade for which permission had been taken from the police. But at the last minute CPM held a programme there, with the result that the police cancelled the prior written permission. The rally was then terminated at a protest meeting at Ganesh Avenue. The meeting was addressed by several well-known intellectuals and Com. Saifuddin was among the Presidium. The speakers demanded unconditional release of all political prisoners. They compared the Buddhadeb led Left Front Govt.’s terrorist activity with the political brutality of nefarious S.S. Roy in the 1970s. They also cautioned the State Govt. against using the sudden bogey of ‘militancy’ as a pretext to impose POCA in the state and asked for cessation of police brutality and arrests.

Party Office Attacked

The CPI(ML) New Democracy Party Office at Moochipara in South Calcutta was stormed on the night of 4th August 2002 by a group of ten armed miscreants belonging to CPM, causing injuries to party cadres. Resistance of the local people forced them to flee, though one of them was caught. He was then handed over to the police by the local people.

The next morning, at Siriti, our auto-campaign was disrupted by another group of miscreants of CPM, who threatened that the office at Moochipara would be demolished. Our cadres and activists were again physically harassed. All these happened in the presence of the police, who turned a blind eye to the incidents.

The people of this area have long been deprived of minimum civic amenities. A demand for bus services connecting this area with Central and North Kolkata has been ignored by the administration for a long time. A bus service on this route was started following a movement led by us for the same, but it later on ceased to operate. Street meetings, demonstrations, deputations and dharnas on the issue of transport and other related issues exposed the character of CPM in the area. Other major parties are not to be seen in the area. All these together with our activities are creating base and support for our party in the area.

In order to counter the increasing popularity of our party in the area, CPM, in the name of political struggle, is resorting to negative-propaganda and physical assaults.

The actual motive of CPM’s attack is to suppress and divert the people’s movement for development in the area and to eliminate the party from the area. They have, however, realized that the people of the area would resist this subversive act of CPM.

(from Biplabi Ganaline, August, 2002)