The report prepared by the National Commission for Women after visiting Goaltore in Midnapore where five minor tribal girls were gang-raped on 26th April gives the lie to the tall claim that West Bengal under the L.F rule is a safe place for women. The NWC has expressed "serious concern" over successive cases of rape of the helpless, poverty-stricken women in the state and has come down heavily on the state police to suppress evidence. NWC team saw the "fear of the police" to silence the eye-witnesses and victims. Almost identical was the Nadia Police role to shield the CPM criminals who committed gang-rape.169

A 20 years old tribal housewife Champa Hansda, lodged a complaint with the Budbud P.S. of Burdwan district that two locals, SK.Jakir, a CPM cadre, brother of SK.Mofirul Hossen, a newly elected panchat member of the CPM, along with another CPM supporter, raped her.170

Intimidation and threats are supplemented by murders, burning of properties and also rape have characterized the social-fascist CPM’s way of functioning in West Bengal, particularly manifest in the most naked way during the recently-held panchayat elections. The CPM goons now exploit the biological vulnerability of women and Buddhadev Bhattacharya was compelled by circumstances to admit to criminals’ entry into the CPI(M). Half truths are also lies. Lumpenisation is never a recent phenomenon.

This Buddhadev in the late 1980s considered the period of Jyoti Basu rule as ‘Dushhomoy’ (Worst of Times) and resigned from the ministry branding it "choreder cabinet" (cabinet of thieves). As he had nowhere else to go immediately for meeting his insatiable hunger for more power he rejoined the gang of thieves. The CPM mouthpiece Ganashakti dated 6 May, 2001 carried a report of the National Bureau of Crimes, fed by inputs of the West Bengal Government, to claim that the record of crimes against women in West Bengal (757 rape cases) is less than many other states. It is the way of presentation in which the comparison is not made with states lagging behind in such cases like Orissa, Assam, Tamilnadu, etc. What it suppressed is that the "ratio of the crimes against women to the total cognizable crimes is the highest, namely 9.9 percent for West Bengal."171 In any case, the pride taken in ‘only’ 757 rape cases under West Bengal "Left" rule is the galling argument of the degenerate CPM.

In the run-up to the recently held panchayat elections, the skeleton burst out from the cupboard. At Dhantala, in Nadia, a known local CPM leader and his followers were involved in dacoity and gang rape of women of a marriage party early this year, raising a huge storm in West Bengal. In March 2003, at Ghokasdanga in Cooch Behar, a CPM women’s wing member was gang-raped. When the reporters asked the CPM Zonal Committee secretary of Matha Bhanga – Ghokasdanga of CoochBehar district about Samiruddin whose name figured as the main accused in the rape charge, the CPM leader unashamedly said that "Samiruddin is our asset"172 Samiruddin is the CPM local committee member of Shidanga.

In March 2003 itself the RSP leaders of 24 Parganas (South) accused that the CPM hordes had barged into the house of its one village panchayat member as well as member of its primary teachers’ organization and looted the movable properties and his wife was "gang-raped by CPM cadres".173

Mrs. Geeta Sengupta, general Secretary, All India Mahila Sangha, an RSP women’s organization, charged that "the series of rapes and molestations during the past few weeks have only confirmed its suspicion that the CPI(M) is now unable to control the lumpen elements, who joined the party to get police protection for their crimes."174

The CPI, was the first L.F. Party to voice its concern about the involvement of Front cadres in the Dhantala and Ghoksadanga incidents and the state government’s "indifference". The CPI state Secretary Manju Kumar Mazumdar had this to comment "The alleged involvement of L.F workers in incidents of rape is a matter of grave concern to us."175

It is an incontrovertible fact that the Congress Party culture became synonymous with molestation of women, fraud and all such criminal acts. Besides other reactionary party leaders and activists, the CPM in West Bengal can justly claim that alongside pursuance of other policies of the earlier Congress governments, it has imbibed the Congress culture of exploiting the vulnerability of women even by raping them in the "Left" Front rule.

There was a spate of atrocities against women centering on the recent panchayat polls. The state commission of women had been alarmed at the menacing situation in West Bengal and convened a meeting of all political parties and social organizations by the end of June 2003. A Commission member put into words the present trend thus: "Common crimes are taking an ugly turn with petty politicians using criminals to settle scores. And women being most vulnerable are being targeted to teach the opponents a lesson."176

At Basanti in 24 Parganas (South), yet another CPM activist was accused of raping a minor girl after the panchayat poll, the same newspaper report added. It is noteworthy that such degeneration is the natural culmination of abandoning the principles of a communist and following criminal policy of control by money-power and the vulgar culture that spreads like never before in rural Bengal.

The CPM is the main culprit in cases of violating the chastity of women in West Bengal by raising its goons and giving them a free hand. In all such cases of outrageous molestation of women the CPM puts in all energy to hush up such incidents and even accuses the victim, not the rapists. The W.B. "Marxist" chief minister disclosed the political colours of the Dhantala rapists only after much storm in the media and other circles. It was known that out of 22 men held, 7 had clear CPM connections.177

After the CoochBehar rape case with the CPM’s involvement, the state secretary of the Party, Mr. Anil Biswas shot his mouth off by casting aspersions on the victim’s character, suggesting that it was not so much the rapists but the poor victim who was at fault.178 The CPM top clearly showed it that his sympathy lay with the rapists. This disclosed the mindset of the top CPM leaders and one can guess the substance of CPM politics with its dire need to carry on its rule dishonouring and trampling on the revolutionary Marxist-Leninist heritage built up through dedications and sacrifices of thousands of people in India. The stink of parliamentarism is all too evident in the abominable practices of the so-called Marxists in Bengal under the "More improved Left-Front". Even parliamentary Marxists used to chastise the Congress leaders in the past for molesting women.

Now the TMC and Congress project the incidents of the CPM leaders’ and cadres’ ugly role vis a vis women, and thus the current generation of the youth mistakenly begin to believe in the anti-Marxist’ false propaganda blitz against immorality of the Marxists in general. Cultural decay has already set in and it has now assumed alarming dimension.

The CPM minister Subhas Charkraborty sponsored, and Jyoti Basu lent his immoral support by his conspicuous presence at the huge musical soiree at Salt Lake Stadium in 1986. Bollywood stars held sway over all acceptable cultural norms with obscene songs and filmi dances. The votaries of vulgarity in culture were emboldened further with the no-holds barred penetration of western pornographic titillating films and songs with the state "Left" Front administration looking the other way.

The growing attraction of the people towards making fortune by using red threads, stones, state-sponsored lottery tickets, by buying shares, etc. in the past few decades alongside the developing indifference of the youth and students to socio-political responsibilities getting disgusted with the practices of immoral parliamentary political leaders is the clear cause and consequence of the more than a quarter century of "Left" Front practices in West Bengal. And Mr. Asim Dasgupta, the LF finance minister, in this year’s budget speech said that "the state government would encourage setting up of new liquor shops in a bid to increase state revenue… by introducing a simplified licensing system for new liquor shops in the current financial year".179

This much can be said that it is also a part of "giving relief through the Left Front government. It goes without saying many a Bengali youth will now take to alcohol in a bid to temporarily sink into the illusory world, as a relief of sorts for getting out of the menacing reality all around under the "Left"-Front misrule in West Bengal.

Notes