The CPI(M) has decided to go all out politically on the principle of ‘offence is the best defense,’ to facilitate completion of Tata Motors NANO plant at Singur and to pre-empt any possibility of indefinite siege of the plant by Mamata Banerjee’s Trinomul Congress (TMC). The Tata Motors plant has been the bone of contention between TMC and CPI(M) in recent times.
Clearly, although Mamata has been able to win away a small fraction of peasantry over the use of farmland in industry, the Urban Middle class and the youths have not taken her attitude well, over the issue of Industrialization of West Bengal, which requires farmland to an extent.
The TMC have been trying all out to create a fear psychosis among the workers of the Tata Motors plant so that the erection work can be brought to a stand still there. The recent incidents of beating up of an Engineer and attack on a lodge housing workers and supervisors of the plant, who are from other states, by TMC activists have not gone down well with the masses.
Even the Bengali Noble laureate and economist ‘Amartya Sen’ has supported the policy of CPI(M) in the matter of Industrialization and use of farmland in industry by saying that developed countries of the word has briskly utilized fertile farmland for industry.
The battle lines are very clear. CPI(M) wants quick industrialization of Bengal so that the fruits of globalisation can be shared by the people of Bengal and the youth of Bengal can get more employment. The CPI(M) is already well entrenched in rural Bengal because of its Pro-farmer and pro-working class policies during three decades of its rule. Industrialization would make them invincible in the urban area too.
This is where it hurts Mamata most. She obviously has a chief ministerial ambition. But if CPI(M) succeeds in changing the industrial horizon of Bengal, she would not be able to dislodge the party from power during her life time. So, in the garb of sympathizing with farmers she has launched the ‘save farmland movement’ and Tatas are unfortunately the first victim of her ‘destroy industry attitude.’
Under the circumstances of do or die situation for CPI(M), they have declared a month long mass movement program starting 10th August, to congregate their various frontal organization supporters, like the Mahila Samity (ladies front), Juba Samity (Youth front), Krishak Samity (the Farmers Front) etc. at Singur plant area.
All of their seventeen MLAs and three MPs of Hooghly district would also be present from time to time. The party is likely to set up camps in the vicinity of the plant and stud them with their supporters so that the declared siege of Mamata can be countered physically if necessary.