Expelled Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Abdur Rezzak Molla floated his own party Bharatiya Nayabichar Party (BNP) here on Saturday. Addressing the audience, Mr. Molla said that that his party is not against the upper castes, but against the oppressive caste system.
Mr. Molla, a veteran MLA, and former Minister in the previous Left Front government pointed out that one of the primary aims of BNP is to achieve socio-economic development of the minorities, Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST).
Claiming that 94 percent of the population in the Bengal consists of people from the minority and backward communities, he said one cannot come to power with only “numbers.”
Mr. Molla pointed out that in order to come to power in Bengal, the BNP needs to get the SC, ST votes in minority-dominated areas and minority votes in seats where majority of voters are from SC, ST communities.
“In 45 seats in Bengal, 50 to 88 percent voters are from the minority community. In 18 seats, the SC community is the majority and in 16 seats, the ST community is the majority,” he added. Mr. Molla lashed out at the CPI-M for doing precious little for the minorities and the SCs, STs.
Among the high strung speeches of other BNP leaders, retired IPS officer Nazrul Islam, who was invited as a guest to the event, reminded the audience of stark political realities. “If you do not have a strong organization ensuring the safety of those who vote for you, people will not support you,” he said. Mr. Islam stressed on the need to break the dominance of the upper castes in Bengal by understanding its ‘technique of establishing social hegemony.’