West Bengal witnesses rise in political killings

DATE: April 5;Place: Barrackpore, West Bengal. It is the eve of Rajiv Gandhi's visit to the state. Congress(I) workers are in a jubilant mood, having organised a series of street corner rallies against "Marxist misrule". Enraged, a mob of CPI(M) workers led by local leader Saktipada Dutta raid the residence of Congress(I) leader and Municipal Chairman Rajendra Yadav. They torch two motorcycles and cowsheds and damage the Hanuman Mandir nearby. Though Rajendra Yadav escapes, his brothers, Sheo Prasad Yadav and Deviled Yadav, are killed.

The Barrackpore violence was merely the most recent of a string of political killings in West Bengal. Following the incident, there were the predictable outcries from the Congress(I) and defensive reactions from the Marxists.

Rajiv Gandhi declared that "life has become unsafe in Bengal". Union Minister of State for Home Santosh Mohan Deb rushed to the spot to inquire into the matter, while state Congress(I) leaders rushed to Delhi to demand imposition of President's Rule in West Bengal. Chief Minister Jyoti Basu countered that the violence broke out when a CPI(M) meet was interrupted by Congress(I) workers, two of whom-both with "criminal antecedents"-died in the process.

The cries and counter-cries notwithstanding, the grim reality is that political violence and gutter politics are becoming an ugly way of life in West Bengal. At least eight Congress(I) and Youth Congress(I) workers and leaders have been slain since January. According to a list submitted by Youth Congress(I) chief Pradyut Guha to Rajiv Gandhi last fortnight, the following persons have died at the hands of Left Front workers: Diptimay Sarkar, president of the Habibpur Youth Congress(I) was murdered at Pagladhghi in Malda district on January 22; the same day, two brothers, Mukesh and Naresh Biswas, were killed in broad daylight at Abhaya-nagar in Nadia district; Nimai Ghosh, municipal commissioner of Krishnagar in Nadia was murdered around the same time: Gautum Basu, another Youth Congress(I) leader was gunned down during the Howrah municipal elections; Shrish Mukherjee, municipal commissioner of South Dum Dum and a Youth Congress(I) worker was killed in Calcutta.

Many Congressmen now insist the Marxists have a systematic plan to eliminate all their active workers. According to Sadhan Pandey, a vocal Congress(I) MLA, since the Left Front came to power in 1977, more than 1,000 workers have been killed. The Congress(I)'s list of complaints about the CPI(M)'s violent ways is, in fact, endless. In a memorandum submitted to the President, it was pointed out that during the recent Howrah municipal elections two Congressmen, Gautam Bose and Ram Deo Singh were killed by "CPI(M) goondas" and an attempt was also made on the life of party MLA Ambika Banerjee. And that in recent months, two former Congress(I) MLAs, Kashinath Taa of Burdwan and A. Dey of Nadia, were also killed under suspicious circumstances.

Another complaint is that in the event of a dispute, the state police force always sides with the communists. "If Congress(I) men escape Marxist bullets, they are killed by police guns." says Guha. He insists that Jyoti Basu admitted that about 463 people were killed in police firing in 1988-89.

"There has been a lot of political violence here, even in the Assembly. The law and order situation is not a happy one." Prime Minister Raj1v Gandhi "The state administration has taken action against offenders irrespective of the party affiliation of the accused." Chief Minister Jyoti Basu

The Left Front leaders, of course, scoff at the Congress(I)'s allegations, saying that the party is seizing any opportunity to get attention as its fortunes in the state are steadily declining. The senior Marxist Biman Bose who oversees the cadre-building for the party, even has an explanation for the spate of killings. "Whenever a goonda is killed by another goonda in gang warfare, the Congress(I) quickly adopts them (those killed) as their workers and adds those names in the list. The CPI(M) as a political party never indulges in the politics of murders," he says. The Forward Bloc leader and former deputy speaker of the Assembly. Kalimuddin Shams, says: "Everybody in West Bengal knows that the Congress(I) has ceased to be a political force. And when they (Congress leaders) are not a force why should they be eliminated through bloodshed?"

The truth possibly lies somewhere in between. Not even the chief minister denies that political violence is widespread. What is disturbing is that the killings have been politicised. As Director-General of Police B.K. Basu puts it: "In such cases almost all major political parties are involved."

Recently, Jyoti Basu presented some interesting figures in the state Assembly. According to him, in 1988-89, at least 86 political workers lost their lives in inter-and intra-party clashes in the state. Of them, said Basu, 34 belonged to the CPI(M), 19 to the Congress(I), two to the Forward Bloc, seven to the Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP). and the rest to other political parties and organisations.

But despite these statistics, possibly because the CPI(M) is the most powerful party in West Bengal with thousands of dedicated cadres at its disposal, most of the political killings are placed at the Marxists' doorstep. According to the figures submitted to the President by the Congress(I), there were 26 political murders in the state during the first 50 days of this year. The memorandum pointed out that on February 8, seven persons were killed in Murshidabad district, two by police and the rest by CPI(M) workers.

The Congress(I) is not alone in blaming the CPI(M) for most of the violence. The smaller Left Front partners also complain-in hushed tones-about what they describe as the Marxists' "terror tactics". In February, while addressing a rally of the All India Agragami Kisan Sabha (a front organisation of the Forward Bloc) Agriculture Minister Kamal Guha obliquely referred to the CPI(M)'s violent activities against the smaller left parties and said that "there was a lot of confusion" in the villages as "both the attackers and the victims carry the red flag".

Several independent political analysts also believe that, heady with power, the Marxists have been resorting to bullying and outright intimidation to curb any challenge to their supremacy.

Gautum Bhattacharya, a prominent Marxist dissident in North 24-Paraganas' Panihati area and an influential member of the "Nagrik Committee" (citizens' committee), a forum of the dissidents and expelled CPI(M) workers, was hacked to death on December 31 last year. Another prominent dissident. MP T.S, Gurung was done to death in Kurseong (Darjeeling Hills) on January 13. A few days ago a former Marxist worker Gandhi Das was killed in Kalia village in Shantiniketan. A week later another worker Gopal Debnath was murdered in Nadia.

Congress(I) leaders have cited Gurung's assassination as an example of the way the West Bengal Government has chosen to ignore the violence. They said in their memo to the President: "Not a whisper was heard about the murder of Gurung." But CPI(M) spokesmen like Bose dismiss the killings as the outcome of continuing land disputes.

The funeral of a victim Deb with victims' families The Congress(I) and even Left Front partners allege that the CPI(M) is using terror to intimidate opponents.