My post General Election, 2009 exchanges with a brotherly acquaintance

16.05.2009 – 17.05.2009:

His SMS:
“After a long time the most promising result from West Bengal and Bihar; people have gone for change to see development rather than some equation for staying in power; people become really frustrated to see red signal for all development”.

My response was:
“Who gave red signal to NANO in Singur ? LF or Mamata + Cong ! People of WB would soon learn paying in blood that lumpens get you degeneration not development”.

Now in the context of your responding SMS below I would add further that you simply changed track when confronted with reality; even a casual reading of your 1st SMS would indicate that you wrote of WB and Bihar only, not of all – India politics; anyway, in Bihar the change continues from its last Assembly election, the much laughed-after Biharis clearly showing that they understand what and who is better for their state to develop;

on the contrary the much vaunted Bengali ‘intelligentsia’, urban middle class, some unemployed youth and some section of the middle and small peasantry (who at one point of time benefitted from the land reform – panchayeti raj movement and thus can now live life above the poverty line) has evidently chosen a downward direction; in fact sometime back just after the “drive-out-NANO” phase I rhymed and SMSd in Bengali to many of my acquaintances and friends :

NANO tarhiye khwaab dekhi; WRITERS ekbaar haate paai; tirish bachhar pete khide; elo-melo kore loote-poote khaai

I am sure those who have voted for Trinamul would soon realise what they have done and the whole of West Bengal would have to pay through its nose for this choice; the sordid saga of killing CPI-M cadres for the past few months having already intensified; I would again suggest a reference to my formulations at my March 2009 blog "No industry in Bengal".

Now his SMS in response:
I was talking about national politics; they have never allowed the Govt. to settle; they have always given red signal to market and economic friendly policies; instead criticising they should come with good global innovative policies like China; they are so open in economic policies though they are communist

My response now:
So far as all-India politics is concerned, a Communist Party worth its salt will always oppose anti – people, pro – big business economic reforms, allowing imperialist control of strategic sectors of economy, disinvesting and selling of PSU shares for a pittance, dismantling indigenous scientific & technological capacity building e.g. Thorium FBRs, abandoning of independent foreign policy etc. whether supporting or opposing the Govt. Strident opposition of CPI-M to Manmohanomics/ imperialist liberalisation/ globalisation ensured that your livelihoods are far less affected by the present global capitalist crisis as against in USA

As for China, success of all its economic reform policies is ensured by the (i) Peoples’ Democratic Dictatorship and the (ii) leading role of the Chinese Communist Party in the society. Reading of CCP documents show how acute is its awareness that the touchstone is ultimately how reforms ultimately serve the (iii) interests of its toiling masses. If you want CPI-M to follow Chinese economic line, learn first to bear with its whole of efforts to wage struggles to achieve (i) & (ii) to ensure (iii) and do not advise to be selective for so called economic reform policies(*).

Now, to counter the recession, it is pumping huge money into economy to develop domestic market/ purchasing power, rather than the headlong pursuit of handing over control of its economy to the global imperialist capital. As for its technological capabilities and confidence, its hardware are powering the so-called IT giant named India, which is rather dismantling indigenous research in Thorium FBRs and oxigenising moribund US N-technology firms using Indian public funds.

(*)As for the CPI-M practising what you called good global innovative policies like China, Trinamul supported Maoists would landmine Jindal Steel in Purulia, sabotage Katoa Thermal power plant, block proposals of Barasat – Kukrahati road project in PPP mode and drown the chemical hub in Nayachar, while Congress and Big-Business media cheers this nefarious game from Delhi; after all Left Front can not be allowed corner the credit for reindustrialisation of West Bengal now, following successful land reforms, which kept them out of power for 30 long years. Devastate West Bengal to devastate CPI-M.

I would however strongly agree with your assessment of acquiescing to some equation for staying in power (see his 1st SMS). WB Govt. should have firmly handled all saboteurs of its reindustrialisation programme – Singur, Nandigram and the rest of W. Bengal, given the mandate of the 2006 assembly election. Even if it meant some additional bloodshed – Mamata looking for more dead bodies so hopefully. After all, if your opposition believes in being political scoundrels, deal with them accordingly. This sends strong signals that you mean business. Being gentleman to a gang of hoodlums (as Buddhababu did), runs the risk of being seen as weak. Thus you lose a battle without really fighting it.