Economic reforms, Stalinist organizational monotony seal up CPI(M)’s fate in India
KOLKATA: As CPI(M) leadership begins probing into electoral disasters and shifts taking personal responsibilities using Lenin’s rather archaic term `collective responsibility,’ party overlooks the socio-economic impact of Manmohan Singh-triggered economic reforms and “contemptuously ignored the need for mixing Marxism with realities that are more Indians.’’
A shocked senior party leader said: “We need to address the wide disconnect that Manmohan’s economic reforms scripted with party and Left cause.’’
The disenchanted seniors say they wonder that “no serious efforts were made to probe into new upwardly moving and growing neo-rich as Bharat Nirman card holders who wrote party’s story of disconnect with commoners, though poor both in urban and rural India didn’t vanish!’’
“Did our party bother about men who lost jobs and suddenly became poor in urban areas due to worst global slowdown ? Or fallouts of UPA I & II jobless growth? Did party took up as fiercely the issue of price rise which is still tormenting under-privileged middle-class, urban and rural poor, like it should?’’ A senior party leader asked.
“Instead, ’’ the leadership remained obsessed with Stalinist party bureaucracy and “over dependence on such destructive experiments in former Soviet Union!’’
“Closing industries in late ‘60s and early and mid-`70s to convert West Bengal into a poor state from its highly industrialized state for political gain by militant trade Union movements, and create flawed education system were easier with land reforms, but fighting back the adverse changes (for age-old Left) released by Manmohan-triggered economic reforms which ironically was backed by Left during UPA I, wasn’t easy!
Nor Left found it repulsive enough when Manmohan asked them to “quit’’ (in an interview to a Calcutta-based daily when social nuclear pact with US was progressing) nor CPI(M)-led Left found it repulsive when Justice M K Mukherjee Commission report on Netaji (also a Left pet issue) was dumped to backyard most unceremoniously by UPA I with the help of former Speaker Somnath Chatterjee to quit the alliance! “This earned us a bad name, throughout nation,’’ he quipped.
Once CPI general secretary AB Bardhan told these reporter in Ajoy Bhawan: “Who else could have been our greatest Icon in India than Bose but we ignored him….’’
Ignoring a new emerging society “without nationalism and ideology’’ and Left remaining confined to failed Stalinist blood tainted vague socialism, “pushed us in a valley whence we may not come back again, it’s strange Karat and his leaders didn’t realize it,’’ said a voice of dissent in CPI(M).
