CPN(M) - Worker #10
The Worker, #10, May 2006
News and Views: National
Strongly Condemn the Arrest of Comrades Sunil Roy,[Press statement issued by CPI (Maoist) on the arrest of revolutionaries by the Indian state. —Ed.]
Patit Pavan Haldar and Others!
Demand Their Immediate and Unconditional Release!
On May 21st senior Politburo member comrade Sunil Roy (Ashok/Shome/Barunda) was arrested from a street in Kolkata along with Com. Haldar (Tapas), CC member and secretary of the West Bengal State Committee of the Party.
The CPM-led government of West Bengal has acted with the utmost viciousness against the newly formed CPI(Maoist) in line with the policies of the Central Home ministry. The arrests were followed up with a series of other arrests using their intelligence network against the Maoist movement. This has also been followed by harassment of many sympathisers and ordinary democrats and the foisting of false cases. Their actions do not at all differ from that of the Congress, BJP or even the TDP when it was in power. Not only that, false cases have been foisted on the comrades, including Com. Shome. Though Com. Shome was arrested in Kolkota, cases have been foisted in Midnapur, Jharkhand, etc on him and he is being produced in Midnapur courts. Though the two comrades were arrested on May 21st they were produced in court only on May 24th. The ruthless CPM rulers, unmindful of Com. Shome's frail health and age, have been repeatedly putting him in police custody and subjecting him to harassment. Not even his medicines are being supplied to him. Though he is a senior and veteran communist revolutionary he is being treated like an ordinary criminal by CPM Goveniment.
Comrade Shome is one of the founding members of the MCCI and had played the leading role as the Secretary of the Party after the martyrdom of Comrade Kanai Chatterjee in 1982 until 1996. He stepped down from Secretaryship due to serious health problems. His vision was affected after he lost one eye due to a cataract operation. However, in spite of his serious ill-health, Comrade Shome continued to play a very important role in the CCI, participated as a leading member of the high-level delegation in the entire merger process between the MCCI and the CPI(ML)[People's War] and became the member of the new Politburo after the formation of the CPI (Maoist) Party in September 2004. In the new Party, he bore a great share of the work of the CC and PB in spite of serious health problems.
It is clear that the reactionary ruling classes of India, with the assistance and blessings of the imperialists, have been drawing up meticulous plans to arrest or eliminate the leadership of the newly-formed CPI (Maoist) party and the advancing people's war led by it. Accordingly, special intelligence agencies and networks have been set up centrally, similar to the SIB of AP, and in most of the states where our Party is active. The CPM-led government of West Bengal, under the leadership of the Chief Minister cum Home Minister, Buddhadev is as brutal as the Congress/BJP, but acts more cunningly. The Indian ruling classes, whichever the Party in power, is implementing all the policies of "economic reforms", which is having a disastrous impact on the living conditions of the people. These imperialist demons and their Indian agents know full well that it is only the CPI (Maoist) that can lead the people in effective battle against the bloodsuckers. It is due to this fear and panic to protect their ill-gotten wealth that they seek to brutally crush this rising force. It is hardly nine months since the new party was announced and in that short period they made the Maoists their number one enemy and have taken systematic and aggressive steps to crush it. In this all the parliamentary parties are collaborators, with the CPM playing an active role. They seek to hide their black deeds behind their Marxist mask. There is no doubt that such repressive measures will only intensify the revolutionary movement as people's anger against the rulers will intensify.
History of earlier movements has shown that repression begets revolt. All democrats must realize that an attack on the revolutionaries is an attack on the democratic movement in general. Today it may be the revolutionaries tomorrow it will be others. We have already seen the ruthlessness adopted in crushing peasant, trade union and other movements. All democratic and revolutionary forces should rally around to fight back these ruthless attacks on the revolutionaries and demand the immediate and unconditional release of comrades Shome, Tapan and others.
June 6, 2005 Ganapathy
General Secretary
Central Committee
Communist Party of India (Maoist)