After facing defeats in local body elections, the Left is desperately trying to cling onto power in West Bengal. CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury tells Saubhadra Chatterji that with the party support base campaigning in full force, the tide is changing.
Is there any confidence left in the Left for winning the election in West Bengal?
In the parliament election in 2009, the central line (the Central Committee’s political line of trying to form a Third Front) in civic polls of 2010, the behaviour of the local leaders… for a variety of reasons, a large section of our support base did not come out to campaign and vote. This time, there is huge and passionate interest in the Left’s support base.
Expelled leader Somnath Chatterjee also campaigned for the party. Will you now take him back?
That is not on the agenda right now. But good that he came for campaign. The issue is three months ago, people were saying the Opposition will sweep. Now, they are talking of a tough fight. This has happened because in past few years, we lost 380 of our cadres to the Trinamool-Maoist gangs. This, coupled with violence in educational campuses has made people realise that Bengal requires peace. Peace for development. On both these counts, Trinamool is seen as an impediment towards the future of Bengal. And Bengal has also realised that industrialisation is the only way forward.
Both the chief minister and the industry minister have started telling industries to buy land on their own. How can your government woo investors in this competitive environment?
Not only Bengal, but the country as a whole requires a new land acquisition law. We are still operating on an 1894-made, completely outdated law. The new law must have provisions for the future stake for the land-sellers. The value of land increases post-acquisition and former owners must have a stake in the higher value. We have been arguing since 2004. But in UPA 2, the bill is stopped by the Trinamool Congress and its leader.
Mamata Banerjee wants farmers to get back their land if it remains unused after a certain period of time. You think it’s a wrong demand?
If the farmers have a stake in the future value of the land, then this question becomes infructuous. If the industrialist doesn’t set up unit, it will have to continue to compensate the farmers from other resources. In this way, if farmers become stakeholders, there will be pressure on the industry to quickly set up its plant. Plus, there should be a land bank to identify what industry can come in which area. But one thing is clear: We can’t expose the poor farmers to the land mafias. So, there must be some government role in land acquisition.
If CPI(M) loses both Bengal and Kerala, will heads roll in the party brass? Will the central leadership see new faces after this series of debacle starting from 2009 Lok Sabha polls?
We have our party congress due. We couldn’t convene it because of the polls. All these issues will be discussed there. Once the elections are over, the state committee will do the review. Then it will come to the Central Committee level and finally at the party congress. After all, everybody is accountable. Right from the top.
