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For Buddhadev Bhattacharya, member of the central committee of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) and West Bengal's minister for
home (police) and information, politics cannot but be
"value-based".
A student of Bengali literature at Presidency College and Calcutta
University, Bhattacharya began his political career in the early
Sixties, working for the Bengal Provincial Student Federation, the
undivided Communist Party's student front. In fact, politics runs
in his family: his uncle Bibhas, elder brother Ashok, and sister
Malavika are all CPI-M members.
Bhattacharya joined the CPI-M in 1964. Not long after, the . state
went, through a period of political turmoil, lasting almost a
decade. The Naxalite uprising assumed alarming proportions,
inviting heavy police repression on all leftist workers. Like many
other CPI-M activists, Bhattacharya too went underground. The
struggle, however, bore fruit when he defeated star Congressman
Prafulla Kanti Ghosh to enter the state assembly in 1977. The next
year, he became a state committee member.
An unexpected defeat in the 1982 assembly election could not impede
his political career as he became a, member of the state
secretariat. Four years later, he was chosen a member of the
party's central committee.
Bhattacharya made news in 1993 by resigning from the cabinet,
reportedly because of differences with Chief Minister Jyoti Basu on
the issue of corruption. Bu, seven months later, he was back. Today
his importance is at an all-time high, so much so that he is widely
perceived to be the chief minister-in-waiting. His proven
administrative skills and understanding of political issues have
helped him carve a niche for himself, both in the party and the
Left Front government.
Often accused of being arrogant or individualistic, Bhattacharya
has a creative side as well, with eight books to his credit. In an
interview with JAY MAZOOMDAAR, he discussed the success of the
communists in West Bengal and national politics, among other
things. Excerpts:
You were called "chief minister-in-waiting" even before you lost
the 1982 elections....
I won't comment on that.
There cannot be any such anticipation. We will decide that when we
have to.
But you still carry that tag.
Those who cook up such gossip have no idea how our party functions.
Your party's decision not to join the United Front and the
subsequent differences of opinion among the leadership, do you
think that should have been avoided in a "disciplined" party?
Well, we follow the basic organizational principle of democratic
centralism. We discuss and debate various national and
international issues before coming to a conclusion. If the house
is divided, the minority has to accept the majority's opinion. And
all lower committees must abide by the decisions of the higher
committees. This is the essence of democratic centralism.
We debated our position seriously in the central committee before
the formation of the government. But once we decided by a majority
vote that we should not join the government, the issue was closed.
But does that mean one cannot retain one's individual conviction?
That's in the mind, but none can carry on with one's own ideas
publicly, politically and organizationally. One should, has to,
accept and propagate the party's decision in all circumstances.
Do you think the party can emerge as a national force?
We are always trying to expand to become a national party in the
real sense. Though we are. running governments in only three
states, people consider us a principal party with an alternative
programme. We are a party that can clearly say what should be done
in Punjab and Kashmir and has definite policies on all national and
international issues. So people take us seriously. But
unfortunately, our strength is still very limited.
The decision of the Salkia plenum of the CPI-M that the party must
expand in the Hindi belt has not been carried out quite
effectively. On the contrary, you have lost ground in states like
Punjab. What went wrong?
We are trying to spread throughout the country with emphasis on the
Hindi belt. As I am not really acquainted with developments in
those states, I cannot give you the exact picture. I can only say
that our performance there was not up to the mark.
The caste factor is a dominant reason. All political parties in
these states are divided along caste lines. (It is) a serious
problem for the Communist Party to defeat the equations. In the
face of such communal and casteist politics, it is very difficult
to grow.
Whether at the Centre or in Punjab, where they went to the polls
with the Congress, the CPI seems to be too obsessed with the BJP
threat. What's your stand?
We have some basic differences with the CPI. Though they are an
all-India party, their stand differs from state to state. It's
very difficult to follow their policies.
The CPI-M is determined to fight both the Congress and the BJP. In
the last elections, our slogan was "defeat Congress, isolate BJP".
And the CPI differs on this basic point.
How do you evaluate the chances of the BJP in West Bengal and the
rest of the country?
The BJP is still not a significant force in West Bengal. After the
demolition of the Babri mosque, they tried to generate some
communal tension here. But now their influence is waning. They
could not get a single seat in the assembly.
But leaders like party president Lal Kishinchand Advani and Atal
Behari Vajpayee draw good crowds at meetings and rallies in Bengal.
They have some following in Maldah and Murshidabad districts. Bihar
is not far from there. They mobilize people from there. That's how
they organize rallies of 20,000-25,000 people. But they don't get
more than five per cent of the votes.
Still, we are not complacent. They are trying to organize their
party, particularly in the border areas and in the mixed zones
where they find a good minority population. We are fighting them.
We call them religious fascists trying to divide the people in our
state also. But I am confident that we are in a position to stop
their advance here.
And on the national plane?
Yes, they are a real problem there. All the Left, secular,
democratic parties must unite to cheek and defeat their communal
politics. And in no case should we allow this party to capture
power in Delhi.
And if the Third Front cannot do that on its own.......
I won't answer any hypothetical question. But we cannot afford to
allow the BJP to capture power in Delhi. That is very clear. If
they capture the Centre, they will destroy the Constitution and the
country. Their "Hindu Raj" is nothing but a fundamentalist
position like Pakistan's. The Taliban created havoc in Afghanistan.
Advani is the twin brother of the Taliban. They will do the same
thing here if they come to power. We have to stop that.
If the Congress comes up with an alternative anti-communal
government, will your party support it?
No, our stand is to fight both the Congress and the BJP.
But what if all the non-BJP forces need to unite to stop the BJP?
Till now our position has been to fight both the Congress and the
BJP, but if such a situation arises, we will take the appropriate
decision. It's too early to say now.
What's the secret of the Left's success in West Bengal? Is it
organization as suggested by Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Digvijay
Singh, or good performance?
Both Basically our success is in the rural area. Land reforms,
rural development programme, and the panchayat system have created
a new situation in the rural areas. This is our greatest
achievement.
Simultaneously, we have tried to politicize the people. We made
them understand both our successes and limitations, and also what
they have gained in all these years. This politically conscious
mass realized from its own experience that our government is
different. They had their experience of the Congress. They compare
this government with the earlier governments and also with those in
other states.
Then, our party has spread in all the rural areas. Our lower-level
committees are active. They are actually carrying out the literacy,
health, or education programmes through panchayats. We are
constructing new roads, promoting small agro-based industries. In
West Bengal, most of the rural poor feel that we have done
something for them. They have faith that the party is trying to
better their lives.
What about the urban population?
I should not say that the picture is the same in the industrial
belts or in the metropolitan areas. Educated unemployment is a big
problem in the cities. There are also problems in providing civic
amenities like health and transport. People are still not happy.
To give some relief to the urban people, the youth in particular,
we have to speed up our programmes like those for industrialization
of West Bengal. That is our objective in our fifth term.
What is the future of the party in the state? After so many years
in power, how has the situation, the priorities changed?
We communists are optimists. We think of the future as full of
possibilities. Yes, certain alien traits have crept into the party.
Some party members have indulged in activities which we don't feel
are befitting communists. There are cases of corruption, nepotism,
or bad culture. So we have started a rectification campaign inside
the party. We have to locate, warn, and then punish those who are
entertaining these alien traits. Our party should not be eroded by
capitalist values.
Do you think the absence of an effective political opposition has
affected the government?
No, our main opposition, the Congress, has a good following in the
state. They have captured 37 per cent votes and increased their
strength in the assembly. Though there is no immediate danger that
they will replace us, we cannot underrate them. A majority of the
seats in the cities go to them. The enemy is there. We have to be
disciplined, politically and ideologically, to fight the Congress.
When you are having certain problems within the coalition, and the
CPI-M has the strength to go it alone....
No, that won't help us. Though we face some problems with our
allies from time to time, we must stay together. The idea of the
Left Front has a historic background. We fought together for many
years on various issues against the Congress regime. The Front was
never just an electoral adjustment which emerged before the polls,
it took birth through a sustained class struggle since Independence
and is the result of a number of democratic movements. We should
continue together. We need them, they need us.
What about Bengali cinema? Why is it on the downslide?
Yes, Bengali cinema is in deep trouble. Certain facilities have
come up. We have our Nandan Film Centre. The Satyajit Ray Film
Institute is also shaping up well. We have the most sophisticated
equipment and lab at Riupayan. But the number of Bengali films,
not to speak of good films, is going down steadily. There is the
problem of an efficient release chain.
The government can at best set up some basic infrastructure and
provide some incentives to young film-makers. But we cannot
produce talent. We can just create the atmosphere. Finally, it
depends on the filmmakers to change the scenario.
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