In a show of strength before the Lok Sabha election, thousands of supporters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) gathered at Kolkata’s iconic Brigade Parade Grounds and vowed to fight both the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime at the Centre.
The gathering was organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) — the youth wing of the CPI(M) — and also marked the culmination of the ‘Insaaf Yatra’ of DYFI. The DYFI leadership started the Insaaf Yatra on November 3, which traversed about 2,000 km across several districts of the State.
DYFI, the student wing of CPI(M) held a rally at Brigade Parade Grounds in Kolkata on January 7, 2024 | Photo Credit: DEBASISH BHADURI
“On behalf of those gathered at Brigade, I congratulate those who have travelled so many kilometres. There is still a lot of distance to be covered,” CPI(M) State Secretary Md. Salim said, addressing the gathering.
CPI(M) leaders such as Biman Bose and Surjya Kanta Mishra were also present at the Brigade rally.
Mr. Salim shared the dais with the DYFI leadership. “We do not need help from any Delhi to save West Bengal,” the CPI(M) leader said, implying that the Left is the alternative to the Trinamool Congress and not the BJP.
‘Bigger battle ahead’
DYFI State secretary Meenakshi Mukherjee said people should be prepared for a bigger battle where caste, religion and identity do not matter, and issues of livelihood take priority. Ms. Mukherjee also recalled CPI(M) cadres who have been killed in instances of violence after the Trinamool Congress came to power in the State in 2011.
Among those present on the Brigade grounds were the father of Anish Khan, the Student Federation of India activist killed under mysterious circumstances at Howrah in February 2022, and villagers of Doluakhali in South 24 Parganas, whose houses were set on fire in November 2023. Issues of corruption of the West Bengal government and unemployment across the country were raised at the rally.
Former DYFI State Secretary Abhas Roychowdhury raised questions over the non-payment of wages to the MGNREGA workers in West Bengal. Mr. Roychowdhury asked why the Trinamool Congress government is not moving the Supreme Court if the Centre is not paying dues to the workers.
On Saturday evening, the DYFI leadership, including Ms. Mukherjee, met former West Bengal Chief Minister and DYFI founder secretary Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who wished them success for the rally.
DYFI national president A. A. Rahim described the rally as a success and said: “ This is a remarkable and a revolutionary day”. Mr. Rahim said the rally was called because of the fire kindled by unemployment, corruption and betrayal of the nation. The air from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is thick with disillusionment with the weight of unfulfilled promises. “ We are the future and the future belongs to us,” the DYFI leader said.
The spontaneous gathering of thousands of people at the DYFI rally comes as a shot in the arm of the CPI(M) leadership, which has been suffering electoral setbacks since the 2011 Assembly election. Though the CPI(M) is part of the INDIA Opposition bloc that includes the Trinamool Congress, the West Bengal CPI(M) leadership has ruled out any seat adjustment with the latter in the State. Though the party’s vote share has marginally improved over the past few local elections, at this moment, the CPI(M) does not have any MLA in the State Assembly or Lok Sabha MP from West Bengal.
COMMents
SHARE