Author: Editorial
Publication: The Statesman
Date: May 1, 2003
Introduction: Hilli attack shows
Marxist nervousness
It is not an exaggeration to say
that Friday's attack by CPI-M supporters on an election rally at Hilli
addressed by Biswanath Chowdhury, RSP's seniormost cabinet minister was
shocking and unprecedented. That Marxists could attack one of their fellow
ministers and disrupt his election rally by hurling abuses, cutting microphone
wires and smashing lights show how bitter the relationship between the
two LF partners has become. It was not expected to turn out so badly. The
incident provoked the RSP general secretary, Debabrata Bandopadhyay to
make a telling comment: "If this can happen to a senior cabinet minister
one can imagine what the Marxists are doing to others to win the election.
If this trend continues we will have to think of another strategy". Biswanath
Chowdhury, stunned by the attack, found justification in the Opposition
charges that Marxists have unleashed a reign of terror to win the election
by any means.
In 1982 Debabrata Bandopadhyay had
created a stir by calling the Marxists "social fascists" as they refused
to comply with the seat sharing formula evolved by the LF. What happened
at Hilli is a clear act of desperation perpetrated with the sole purpose
of terrorising the RSP leadership and their supporters in their traditional
strongholds of south Dinajpur. The Marxists wanted to grow at the expense
of junior partners and also to drive home the message that their diktat
was sacrosanct and binding. The Hilli incident happened right under the
nose of the police who did nothing to prevent it or apprehend the culprits.
The role of the state election commissioner, Ajay Sinha, was frankly dubious.
He refused to start a suo motu investigation despite knowledge of a serious
interference with the fundamental right to free and fair elections.
Hilli also betrays an element of
nervousness, best explained by the way they are targeting rival women candidates
and voters. They have forced women candidates to withdraw by kidnapping
and sexually harassing them. Those who have not relented are being threatened
that they would either be gang-raped or killed. This too is unprecedented
by Bengal's political and behavioural standards.
The question that naturally arises
is why the Marxists are doing this? Alimuddin Street has little control
over grass-roots cadres who enjoy power and pelf flowing from panchayats.
It is also scared of losing ground because of intense factionalism, corruption
and nepotism within the party and its mass base has shrunk. But can terror
reverse the trend? No! Terror will be nemesis for the Marxists as it was
for the Congress in 1972 assembly election. But nobody learns the lessons
of history.
