Kolkata, Feb 5 (PTI) Even though the possibility of an alliance with the Congress before the assembly polls in West Bengal rests on thin ice, the CPI(M) on Thursday said that it wants all forces against the Trinamool Congress and the BJP to come together and fight against them.
CPI(M) West Bengal state secretary Mohammed Salim said that they were talking to everybody for the purpose.
“We want all forces against the TMC and BJP to come together and fight against them,” he said addressing a press conference at the party state headquarters here.
Regarding Congress joining the anti-TMC and anti-BJP bandwagon, he said that the grand old party’s state leadership has said that the lower level workers will take a call on the issue.
The Left parties fought the last assembly elections in 2021 in alliance with the Congress and Indian Secular Front (ISF). However, all of them drew a blank and only the ISF won a single seat.
Salim stated that there has not been any fruitful discussion so far with the Congress on a pre-poll alliance or seat sharing for the West Bengal assembly elections due in three months.
Asked whether the suspended TMC MLA Humayun Kabir, who has recently formed Janata Unnayan Party, came up during discussions at the state committee meet, Salim said, “When the CPI(M) deliberates before an assembly elections and its organisational preparedness, it does not discuss any specific person.” Last week, Salim held a meeting with the Kabir at a hotel in New Town here, giving rise to speculation of a tie-up between the two parties before the upcoming state assembly elections.
After meeting the former Trinamool Congress MLA, who recently courted controversy over the foundation stone laying programme of a mosque modelled on the Babri Masjid in Murshidabad district, Salim said, “I wanted to know from him (Kabir) what he wants to do and what is his objective.” The CPI(M) leader also welcomed Thursday’s Supreme Court order on payment of dearness allowance by the state government to its employees.
In a relief to nearly 20 lakh government employees, the apex court directed the West Bengal government to pay dearness allowance to them for the 2008-to-2019 period, saying it is a legally-enforceable right.
Maintaining that the Mamata Banerjee government has been making excuses that the state’s coffers are dry, Salim questioned what happens to the huge earnings claimed by her government.
“This victory in the court of law shows that perseverance pays as the employees did not give up despite punitive actions like transfers for their agitations demanding DA hike,” Salim said.
The CPI(M) leader criticised Governor C V Ananda Bose’s speech at the commencement of the Budget session in the West Bengal Assembly on Thursday, saying that it did not mention the strife in Murshidabad district’s Samserganj during anti-Waqf protests claiming at least three lives in April last year or the recent violence at Beldanga over alleged attacks against migrant labourers in some states.
“The governor read the Trinamool Congress’ leaflet for the coming assembly elections and did not mention the problems being faced in the state,” Salim said.
He claimed that owing to lack of job opportunities in Bengal, people were working as migrant labourers in other states and were facing attacks there, but these do not find mention in the speech.
Salim claimed that the Mamata Banerjee government, which had earlier opposed the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, was now saying that there is no problem if the SIR is held after the assembly polls due in a couple of months.
Maintaining that the Left parties have been demanding that no genuine names are left out in the final electoral rolls to be published by the Election Commission, Salim said, “(If that happens) we have decided to hold protest the day after the list is published.” Questioning the logical discrepancy issue, he alleged that hearing notices were being served to people by the commission in a pick and choose manner based on voting patterns and demography. PTI AMR NN
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