For the last 49 years, “Ganashakti”, the mouthpiece of the CPI(M) West Bengal State Committee, has conducted an incessant fight against all obstacles in its effort to highlight the cause of the struggling masses. Speaker after speaker asserted this while addressing those who had gathered at the Pramode Dasgupta Bhawan, Kolkata to celebrate the foundation day Ganashakti on January 3.
Speaking on the occasion, CPI(M) State Secretary and Polit Bureau Member Biman Basu charaterised the BJP government as Rightist. He said both the Modi government said the TMC government in the state are working to strengthen the hands of the communal forces. He castigated the Modi government for bypassing Parliament and resorting to the ordinance route to amend laws that will facilitate corporates and multinationals, on the eve of the visit of President Barack Obama. Corruption has taken its toll on the performance of the TMC state government. By announcing to give lifetime membership for Rs 50,000 and associate membership for Rs 30,000, the TMC was only attracting hoarders of black money to its fold he remarked.
Polit Bureau Member Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said that the lives of people have become worse in the last three years. Unemployment, series of factory closure, increasing atrocities on women have become the salient features of TMC rule he pointed out. No minister in the history of Bengal has been imprisoned on allegations of corruption as has happened now. Proclaiming that the TMC has lost its moral right to rule Bengal, he said that it disgraceful scene to find the Chief Minister herself defending the accused in financial scandals.
He said that would not be able to emerge as an alternative in Bengal despite the backing that it is receiving from the corporate houses. The policies pursued by the BJP are no different from that were pursed by the Congress, though it is more aggressive. These policies he said are widening the divide between the rich and poor. The confrontation between these two income groups is inevitable. We are for the poor. Let us see where the BJP stands he added.
Lauding the role played by the Ganashakti over the years, the former Chief Minister said that it has played a gallant role in disseminating news of mass movements to the people. It has never yielded before the power of corporate capital and never it will, he asserted.
Editor of ‘Ganashakti’ Narayan Dutta spoke on the various adversities under which the paper is working these days. CPI(M) leader Tanmoy Bhattacharya received the award for topping the districts in the number of copies sold on behalf of North 24 Paraganas district.