People's Democracy

Protest Rallies In Bengal

Anil Biswas leading a protest march in Kolkata against attempted attack on CC office

Several million people from all sections of life marched across Bengal in all the districts, in urban and rural areas, throughout the afternoon and evening of 5 January. The march was in vociferous protest against, and in condemnation of, the attack orchestrated, and led by the forces of religious fundamentalism, chiefly the RSS and the BJP, and the VHP.

The Bengal CPI (M) and the Bengal Left Front have castigated the attack as heinous and counter-democratic.

The central procession and rally held in Kolkata at a couple of hours   notice saw the participation of close to twenty thousand people. The marchers, shouting rousing slogans against the attack on the central committee office of the CPI (M), traversed the stretch between the crossing of Ananda Palit Road and Sundari Mohan Avenue and the Park Circus maidan in east-central Kolkata.

It was remarkable how many thousands of people spontaneously joined the marchers as the processions wound its way through the Sundari Mohan Avenue.

The leadership of the CPI (M) and of the Left Front constituents were present. Anil Biswas led the marchers. Although invited to take part in the march, the Pradesh Congress leadership chose to give the offer a go by perhaps in view of the opportunistic concoction that they are brewing with the Trinamul Congress and the BJP in the run up to the state assembly elections. The incident once again showed the political bankruptcy of the Pradesh Congress.

Anil Biswas assailed the nefarious attack and said that Polit Bureau member of the CPI (M), Brinda Karat had raised a serious allegation about the concoction of drugs   in the factory run by and owned by Ramdev, and had broached the charge that the drugs   contained powdered forms of animal and human bones.

One of the principal abettors of the attack it seems was a senior BJP leader. This clearly shows the BJP-RSS connection of the attackers. Biswas said that while we have nothing against yoga or an Ayurvedic form of treatment, we condemn all forms of fraud and the passing off as drugs   items that are spurious to say the least.  

Biswas while calling for an apprehension of the guilty, also called for an inquiry into the procedure of drug making in the factory run by Ramdev and demanded that the 110 workers at the factory who were illegally served dismissal notices must be taken back into service.