CPM's
decision about Tripura strongman raises misgivings
by Gautam Ghosh
Kolkata:
The CPI(M)'s unilateral decisiion to revoke the expulsion
order served on the former politburo member and ex-chief
minister of Tripura, Nripen Chakraborty, only a couple of
days before his death late last month has raised serious
misgivings about the party's real intention. Chakraborty
was expelled from the CPI(M) in 1995 shortly after the party's
Chandigarh congress apparently for criticising its industrial
policy and the life-style of a section of leadership. The
veteran politburo member and one of the founder members
of the party was not even allowed to defend himself before
being shown the door quite unceremoniously. The CPI(M)'s
decision to take the Marxist into the party-fold when he
was no longer in a position to serve it, has naturally generated
a great deal of curiousity amidst the political parties
here.
According
to informed sources, the main reason behind the CPI(M)'s
decision to restore Chakraborty's membership was a conscious
bid by the central leadership to refurbish the party's image,
particularly among the Tripura comrades. Aware of the fact
that a large section of Marxists in Tripura had not taken
kindly to Chakraborty's expulsion, the party leadership
was apprehensive of an adverse fallout in the next Assembly
polls if he suffered the "ignominy of dying as an expelled
member." The CPI(M) politburo was, therefore, in a hurry
to withdraw the expulsion order, but obviously could not
anticipate that the Chakraborty would die within the next
two days. The politburo did not offer any plausible explanation
of its decision, excepting that the expulsion was revoked
"in view of his role in the communist movement." Mainline
opposition parties here, however, feel the CPI(M)'s action
only indicated the party's "political opportunism and moral
degeneration."
As Trinamul
Congress spokesman and leader of the opposition in the Assembly
Pankaj Banerjee put it, "The CPI(M) could have restored
Chakraborty's membership much earlier if the party really
felt it had made a mistake by expelling him. The fact that
the CPI(M) felt or did nothing of the sort for almost a
decade after his expulsion shows its real intention. The
party wanted to appear magnanimous by revoking the expulsion
on the eve of Chakraborty's demise. However, the very act
has exposed the Marxists' self- deception." The state BJP
leadership has also described the CPI(M)'s decision as a
"political gimmick." "The CPI(M) has only made itself a
laughing stock by making the unilateral announcement when
Chakraborty was counting the last hours of his life. Had
the party really wanted to take him back, the decision should
have come much earlier," said a senior state BJP leader.
The state Congress too regards the CPI(M)'s decision as
"the biggest political joke of 2004." "It is simply childish.
A man of Chakraborty's status deserved much better treatment
from the party," said PCC general secretary Manas Bhuniya.
A
seven-time legislator and Tripura's chief minister for two
terms, Chakraborty became a central committee member of
the CPI(M) in 1972 and joined the politburo in 1985. The
veteran Marxist, who spent as many as 18 years in prison
as a freedom fighter and played a leading role in the country's
communist movement, fell from the grace of the powerful
coterie including former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti
Basu, shortly after the 1994 Chandigarh congress. His praise
for late Indira Gandhi as "India's best Prime Minister"
and criticism of "corruption in the party" and Basu's industrialist
son ultimately sealed his fate.
The
CPI(M), however, did not cite any reasons for Chakraborty's
expulsion, excepting that he had "violated party discipline.'
Chakraborty never said he had made a mistake by criticising
certain aspects of the CPI(M) policies. Neither had he appealed
to the leadership for restoration of his membership. The
CPI(M)'s enigmatic silence over the entire episode has only
compounded the confusion among its rank and file, particularly
among the party workers in Tripura. Chakraborty's humiliation
within the CPI(M) reminds one of similar instances in Bengal.
Prof. Sankar Sen quit the Left Front cabinet as power minister
after developing differences with Basu on policy matters.
Asok Mitra, the noted economist, too resigned as the finance
minister in the eighties due to similar reasons. The CPI(M)
later made amends by sending him to the Rajya Sabha in 1992.
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee too had quit the Basu cabinet as
information and urban development minister in 1993 following
a tiff with his predecessor. The CPI(M), however, has not
cited any reasons for all these developments despite a lot
of queries from the media as well as party members.
India's
visa-on-arrival proposal hailed (Go
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Nankana
Sahib: People living in Nankana Sahib, the birthplace
of Guru Nanak Dev in Pakistan, lauded the proposed visa-on-arrival
by Indian and Pakistani authorities. The new initiative
allows relaxation for senior citizens above 65 years of
age and children below 12 years. Haji Mohammad Shahid, a
resident said the new move would create trust between the
nuclear neighbours. "If such moves are taken with an honest
intention to bring peace between the two countries, then
I am sure that there will be peace. Both the countries are
developing and if they work together then we can be progressing
fast," he said. "It's a very good step, the best step. It
will lead to good relations. But they should keep this in
mind that 65 years is too old an age for relaxation, it
should be reduced to 50 years," said Rana Mohammad Ilas,
another resident. Nankana Sahib is revered by Sikhs who
visit the town every year for the Guru's birthday. The foundation
stone of the Nankana Sahib estate, seen as a symbol of Muslim-Sikh
solidarity, was laid in 1994. Much of the 169,62 acres estate
was donated by local philanthropist Bashir Ahmad Khan Bhatti,
whose ancestor relative Chaudhry Rai Bular Bhatti was a
contemporary of Guru Nanak. All Gurudwaras were used to
be maintained by the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabhandhak Committee
(SGPC), a mini parliament of Sikhs, set up under an Act
of 1925, till Pakistan formed a separate body, Pakistan-SGPC
(P-SGPC), two years ago to manage the Sikh shrines in that
country.
Pak
move to resolve Baglihar Dam row (Go
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Islamabad:
Pakistan has reiterated that it has strong reservations
against India's continuance of building of Baglihar Dam.
It said that it was still mulling over the idea of moving
World Bank, and other international bodies, for its resolution.
Reacting to Indian External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh's
recent statement that Pakistan will not take the Dam issue
to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), Pakistan Foreign
Office spokesman Masood Khan said that Islamabad intended
to involve the WB for the resolution of the dispute. According
to The News, Khan said that they would give India a last
chance to resolve the dispute during the January 4-6 meeting
in New Delhi. Pakistan Water and Power Secretary Ashfaq
Mehmood is visiting the Indian Capital tomorrow as the head
of an eight- member Pakistan delegation to hold talks over
the issue. The spokesman expressed hopes that India will
extend maximum co- operation for the just resolution of
the dispute. Pakistan believes that the current design of
the Dam was against the spirit of Sindh-Tass agreement.
Pakistan had last year decided that the WB would be asked
for its neutral experts in accordance with Article 92-A
of the Sindh-Tass agreement for resolution of Baglihar Dam
dispute.
23
die in Iraq car blast (Go
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Baghdad:
At least 23 were killed and scores injured when a car
bomb exploded today alongside the Iraqi security force's
bus near Balad, sources reported. As many as 16 Iraqi national
guardsmen aboard the bus and one civilian died instantly,
while two security personnel succumbed to severe injures
in a hospital where they were transported for medical aid.
A woman, standing at a place near the blast site, also died
in the powerful blast. Six personnel of the national guards
were also amongst those injured.
Cadbury's
Dairy Milk turns 100 (Go
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London:
Having a chocolate bar might be your idea of celebration
this festive season, as Cadbury's Dairy Milk, UK's favourite
chocolate bar none celebrates its 100th birthday this year.
According to The Telegraph, the centenary celebrations are
expected to last all year and include gifts for British
residents who are also becoming 100 years old. The chocolate
bar sales were close to 320 million pounds with 500 million
bars are produced each year at the Bourneville factory,
Birmingham, and sold to around 30 countries worldwide. "They
were made with powdered milk, but George Cadbury Jnr set
out to use full cream liquid milk. Within two decades it
was the best-selling chocolate brand in the UK. People often
talk about chocolate having mood-enhancing chemicals, but
that's just scientific mumbo-jumbo. It's more to do with
the texture, that creamy quality. It's the taste we've all
grown up with. It's something your parents, grandparents
and probably their parents enjoyed," Tony Bilsborough, from
Cadbury's was quoted as saying.
