Says no land will be given to industry without farmers’ consent.
To regain its lost political ground, the Prakash Karat-led CPI(M) wants to jump in to lend support to land movements all over the country. All over again. The party, at its ongoing extended Central Committee meeting here, has reiterated that no land will be given to industry without consent of the farmers.
In the first sign of defeat of his line, Karat also admitted to his party members three mistakes — that the party should not have allowed the Congress to go to the International Atomic Energy Agency; it should have withdrawn support to the Congress-led UPA in November 2007; and the third alternative initiative was a misadventure.
Accepting that the Nandigram episode in West Bengal — where 16 people were shot dead by police in March 2007 in the wake of large-scale protests over land acquisition for a proposed chemical hub — put a dent in the Left’s image, the party will now campaign aggressively, as it has decided to rally behind its West Bengal unit in full strength. “Although not an inch of land was taken in Nandigram, the campaign caused damage,” Karat said at the conclusion of the meeting today.
After heated exchanges between the Karat camp and the West Bengal lobby in an attempt to find fault with each other, the party finally realised the importance of appearing united in this hour of crisis. It will launch a nationwide campaign from September 12 to 18 to show solidarity with the West Bengal unit.
During the debate on the political resolution, while West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee received flak from even junior delegates, Politburo member Sitaram Yechury — a Rajya Sabha member from West Bengal — put up a valiant defence of the state.
Yechury also asked all the critics of the Bengal lobby to remember that without West Bengal, the party would have found it difficult to survive.