If we take into account the prospective election result of all these polls in five states, I think both West Bengal and Kerala would be extremely important for the importance of Left in the country. The victory of the Left in Bengal and Kerala will help the Left continue on the path of struggle for a left and democratic alternative at the national level, which is an ongoing process. I think that would get a fillip and a boost.
[CPI(M) General Secretary spoke to www.cpimwb.org.in/vote on 19th April 2011]
Question: What is your assessment about the outcomes of the state assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala?
Prakash Karat: The polling is already over in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. I think we can discern a common pattern in all these polls, which is a strong trend against the Congress and its allies. In the case of Tamil Nadu of course, it is the DMK-Congress alliance. In Assam, it is the Congress Party which is in coalition in the state with Bodo People's Front. In Kerala, it is the UDF which is the Congress led alliance. In Kerala specifically, the LDF Government has been there for five years and there is no anti-incumbency trend against the Government. We can expect a return of the LDF in the Government. In Tamil Nadu, the situation has become clearer after the polling that the AIDMK led alliance is going to win. In Assam, last time also, there was no majority for any party. I think there will be no majority for any party this time too and the Government would depend on the post poll alliance.
Question: Corruption and price rise seems to have become major issues during the assembly polls. What has been its impact on the prospects of the LDF in Kerala?
Prakash Karat: Both corruption and inflation are very major issues at the national level. These have also found repercussions in the state assembly elections as well. In fact, these two issues have agitated the people. In this context, the LDF is positioned at a great advantage because as far as corruption is concerned, the image of the Congress, particularly the UPA Government at the centre is at its lowest with so many major corruption scandals. In Kerala, the UDF is also characterized by its past corrupt misdeeds. Before the elections, one of the former ministers of the UDF has been jailed for one year for corruption by the verdict of the Supreme Court and this is a case which was fought by the present Chief Minister who had appealed in the Supreme Court. In Kerala, the corruption issue dominated during the election campaign and the record of the LDF Government and the Chief Minister stood out in stark contrast to that of the Congress and its allies on the issue of corruption. I think this was a major factor that could have influenced the electorate in Kerala.
Question: Do you see these issues having a major impact in West Bengal too?
Prakash Karat: Both price rise and corruption will have its impact on the West Bengal elections because all over the country, people have become more conscious about the evil of corruption, especially after the 2G spectrum scandal, the biggest corruption scandal in India after independence. For example, we found that in Tamil Nadu villages, every man, woman and child know about the 2G scam. In Bengal also, I am sure the people are following what is happening in the country on the issue of corruption and the Left Front here has also made corruption a major issue. So, I think that the record of the Congress led Government at the centre, with Trinamool Congress as its part and their corrupt regime, what it holds out for the people of Bengal, I think the link would be explicitly made.
Question: It is being alleged that the 7th Left Front Government could not achieve much and this tenure has been marred by incidents like Nandigram. How would you react?
Prakash Karat: We have to see the overall record of 7th Left Front Government. Here is a Government which has in the last five year period, redistributed 20000 acres of land to the landless and has maintained steady agricultural growth when at the all-India level, agricultural growth has stagnated. In West Bengal, the rate of growth in agricultural production is far higher than the national average. Secondly, under the Left Front Government, measures have been taken to alleviate the problems of the people due to price-rise and the Government has initiated the Rs. 2 per kilo rice scheme, which it now wants to expand to more people. It has sought to overcome the limitations of the BPL policy of the centre with targeted PDS. Workers in closed factories have been given allowances of Rs. 1500 per month. It has extended provident fund benefits to the unorganized sector. So, this Government has done much in a period when the policies of the Central Government have actually contributed to inflation and agrarian crisis. As against that the Left Front Government has acted as a buffer to counter the adverse impact of the Central Government policies. These aspects, I think will be highlighted in the West Bengal election campaign.
Question: Has the Left Front Government been able to deliver development for the Muslim minorities in West Bengal?
Prakash Karat: Land reforms in West Bengal have led to land being distributed among poor peasant families and landless families belonging to the Muslim community. 18% of the total land distributed in Bengal has gone to Muslim households. This is the Government which has taken a major step forward in implementing the recommendations of Ranganath Mishra Commission regarding provision of job reservation for Muslims. We have done it by keeping in mind the constitutional and legal constraints - by giving 10% reservation to the OBCs among the Muslims and that would benefit 1.72 crore people among the Muslim population in the state. No other Government, neither the centre nor any other State Government has taken that step. Even if you look at the advancement made in the sphere of education and scholarships disbursed within the Muslim community, the provision of credit for minority community for their enterprises etc. Bengal has one of the best records in the country. So, I think that the misconception which arose due to the Sachar Committee's partial picture of what is happening to the socio-economic development of the Muslim minorities has been corrected by the concrete steps taken by the Left Front Government in this regard.
Question: Sections of the media and some intellectuals view the Trinamool Congress supremo as a progressive politician fighting for change in Bengal. How do you explain this?
Prakash Karat: Well, this has a history in Bengal. We have seen earlier too that sections of the ultra-left join hands with the main ruling class party. This has come about in West Bengal mainly because the Left here is a strong force. Whenever, the rightwing forces want to outflank the Left, they join hands with the ultra-left. Something of that sort is happening again in West Bengal, where the Trinamool is aligning with the Maoists and vice-versa. This has also been happening among a section of intellectuals, who for whatever reasons are trying to paint a false picture of Mamata Banerjee as a radical politician. The slogan for change is given in this respect, which I think is a transient phenomenon. Eventually, how much one intellectualizes and theorizes, the real truth about the rightwing opposition in the state will come out.
Question: What do you think about the role of the major national parties, the Congress and the BJP in these elections?
Prakash Karat: Here again we see that where the CPI (M) and the Left are strong we tend to find the convergence of the anti-Left and anti-Communist forces. We have seen it in Kerala for a long time. In fact, in Kerala, there is a system of selling of BJP votes. They do not just transfer the votes to Congress but actually sell their votes to the Congress led UDF. Here in West Bengal also, because of the class imperative particularly in the countryside, the vested interests and the old landed interests get together. Some of them belong to the Congress and some of them belong to the BJP. The BJP at the national level does not want to see the Left existing as an alternative to the Congress. They do not want the Left to be emerging as the rallying point for all the non-Congress and non-BJP forces. So, it is a political aspect, which makes them also to prefer the Congress party as a lesser evil for them than the Left Front here. That has actually found place in the utterances of Narendra Modi when he came here and praised Mamata Banerjee for playing the role of a fighter for freedom or liberation, whatever! The BJP is not going to play any significant role in West Bengal as an alternative to the Left Front and thus it is helping the Trinamool-Congress combine as we have noticed in Modi's speech during the Bengal election campaign.
Question: In the backdrop of escalating violence in West Bengal over the past two years, how does the Left Front plan to restore peace in the state?
Prakash Karat: Well, the violence that the state has seen in the last two years, particularly after the Lok Sabha election results, comes in the background of the rightwing opposition sensing that after some of the reverses suffered by the Left Front, there is a chance to push back the Left. They have used violence in the most undemocratic and barbaric manner. This is the root cause for the escalation of violence now. One dimension of this political violence is the Maoist violence that is again targeting the CPI (M). In this election, this political gang up may once again unleash violence against the Left Front. If the Left Front wins this election, then it would be easier to restore peace and normalcy in certain areas affected with such political violence against the Left.
Question: How do you assess the prospects of the Left Front in the West Bengal assembly elections? Has the situation changed from 2009?
Prakash Karat: Definitely there is change in situation compared to 2009. What happened in 2009 came in a specific set of circumstances at the state and the national level. But I think the political situation has now changed both at the state level and national level. As I said that for the people, a major issue like price rise is directly linked to the role of the Trinamool and the Congress party at the centre. This is one aspect. Secondly, what has been done by the Left Front Government administratively in the last two years and the way we have overcome some of the shortcomings and errors which were there both at the political-organizational aspects and the Government aspects - taking both these factors into account I think that there will be a reversal of the trend that was noticed in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, which would mean that the Left Front would gain ascendance and that would be reflected in the election result.
Question: How are you envisaging the post-poll scenario and its impact at the national level?
Prakash Karat: If we take into account the prospective election result of all these polls in five states, I think both West Bengal and Kerala would be extremely important for the importance of the Left in the country. The victory of the Left in Bengal and Kerala will help the Left continue on the path of struggle for a left and democratic alternative at the national level, which is an ongoing process. I think that would get a fillip and a boost. But I think that the results in Tamil Nadu also would be significant because it will be a direct blow to the whole neoliberal-corrupt nexus, which is now represented by the UPA Government. After all, as I said, that corrupt nexus is directly reflected in the rule of the DMK led State Government in Tamil Nadu. Therefore the Tamil Nadu result would also have a major impact at the national level.
[CPI(M) General Secretary spoke to www.cpimwb.org.in/vote on 19th April 2011]
Question: What is your assessment about the outcomes of the state assembly elections in Tamil Nadu, Assam and Kerala?
Prakash Karat: The polling is already over in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and Puducherry. I think we can discern a common pattern in all these polls, which is a strong trend against the Congress and its allies. In the case of Tamil Nadu of course, it is the DMK-Congress alliance. In Assam, it is the Congress Party which is in coalition in the state with Bodo People's Front. In Kerala, it is the UDF which is the Congress led alliance. In Kerala specifically, the LDF Government has been there for five years and there is no anti-incumbency trend against the Government. We can expect a return of the LDF in the Government. In Tamil Nadu, the situation has become clearer after the polling that the AIDMK led alliance is going to win. In Assam, last time also, there was no majority for any party. I think there will be no majority for any party this time too and the Government would depend on the post poll alliance.
Question: Corruption and price rise seems to have become major issues during the assembly polls. What has been its impact on the prospects of the LDF in Kerala?
Prakash Karat: Both corruption and inflation are very major issues at the national level. These have also found repercussions in the state assembly elections as well. In fact, these two issues have agitated the people. In this context, the LDF is positioned at a great advantage because as far as corruption is concerned, the image of the Congress, particularly the UPA Government at the centre is at its lowest with so many major corruption scandals. In Kerala, the UDF is also characterized by its past corrupt misdeeds. Before the elections, one of the former ministers of the UDF has been jailed for one year for corruption by the verdict of the Supreme Court and this is a case which was fought by the present Chief Minister who had appealed in the Supreme Court. In Kerala, the corruption issue dominated during the election campaign and the record of the LDF Government and the Chief Minister stood out in stark contrast to that of the Congress and its allies on the issue of corruption. I think this was a major factor that could have influenced the electorate in Kerala.
Question: Do you see these issues having a major impact in West Bengal too?
Prakash Karat: Both price rise and corruption will have its impact on the West Bengal elections because all over the country, people have become more conscious about the evil of corruption, especially after the 2G spectrum scandal, the biggest corruption scandal in India after independence. For example, we found that in Tamil Nadu villages, every man, woman and child know about the 2G scam. In Bengal also, I am sure the people are following what is happening in the country on the issue of corruption and the Left Front here has also made corruption a major issue. So, I think that the record of the Congress led Government at the centre, with Trinamool Congress as its part and their corrupt regime, what it holds out for the people of Bengal, I think the link would be explicitly made.
Question: It is being alleged that the 7th Left Front Government could not achieve much and this tenure has been marred by incidents like Nandigram. How would you react?
Prakash Karat: We have to see the overall record of 7th Left Front Government. Here is a Government which has in the last five year period, redistributed 20000 acres of land to the landless and has maintained steady agricultural growth when at the all-India level, agricultural growth has stagnated. In West Bengal, the rate of growth in agricultural production is far higher than the national average. Secondly, under the Left Front Government, measures have been taken to alleviate the problems of the people due to price-rise and the Government has initiated the Rs. 2 per kilo rice scheme, which it now wants to expand to more people. It has sought to overcome the limitations of the BPL policy of the centre with targeted PDS. Workers in closed factories have been given allowances of Rs. 1500 per month. It has extended provident fund benefits to the unorganized sector. So, this Government has done much in a period when the policies of the Central Government have actually contributed to inflation and agrarian crisis. As against that the Left Front Government has acted as a buffer to counter the adverse impact of the Central Government policies. These aspects, I think will be highlighted in the West Bengal election campaign.
Question: Has the Left Front Government been able to deliver development for the Muslim minorities in West Bengal?
Prakash Karat: Land reforms in West Bengal have led to land being distributed among poor peasant families and landless families belonging to the Muslim community. 18% of the total land distributed in Bengal has gone to Muslim households. This is the Government which has taken a major step forward in implementing the recommendations of Ranganath Mishra Commission regarding provision of job reservation for Muslims. We have done it by keeping in mind the constitutional and legal constraints - by giving 10% reservation to the OBCs among the Muslims and that would benefit 1.72 crore people among the Muslim population in the state. No other Government, neither the centre nor any other State Government has taken that step. Even if you look at the advancement made in the sphere of education and scholarships disbursed within the Muslim community, the provision of credit for minority community for their enterprises etc. Bengal has one of the best records in the country. So, I think that the misconception which arose due to the Sachar Committee's partial picture of what is happening to the socio-economic development of the Muslim minorities has been corrected by the concrete steps taken by the Left Front Government in this regard.
Question: Sections of the media and some intellectuals view the Trinamool Congress supremo as a progressive politician fighting for change in Bengal. How do you explain this?
Prakash Karat: Well, this has a history in Bengal. We have seen earlier too that sections of the ultra-left join hands with the main ruling class party. This has come about in West Bengal mainly because the Left here is a strong force. Whenever, the rightwing forces want to outflank the Left, they join hands with the ultra-left. Something of that sort is happening again in West Bengal, where the Trinamool is aligning with the Maoists and vice-versa. This has also been happening among a section of intellectuals, who for whatever reasons are trying to paint a false picture of Mamata Banerjee as a radical politician. The slogan for change is given in this respect, which I think is a transient phenomenon. Eventually, how much one intellectualizes and theorizes, the real truth about the rightwing opposition in the state will come out.
Question: What do you think about the role of the major national parties, the Congress and the BJP in these elections?
Prakash Karat: Here again we see that where the CPI (M) and the Left are strong we tend to find the convergence of the anti-Left and anti-Communist forces. We have seen it in Kerala for a long time. In fact, in Kerala, there is a system of selling of BJP votes. They do not just transfer the votes to Congress but actually sell their votes to the Congress led UDF. Here in West Bengal also, because of the class imperative particularly in the countryside, the vested interests and the old landed interests get together. Some of them belong to the Congress and some of them belong to the BJP. The BJP at the national level does not want to see the Left existing as an alternative to the Congress. They do not want the Left to be emerging as the rallying point for all the non-Congress and non-BJP forces. So, it is a political aspect, which makes them also to prefer the Congress party as a lesser evil for them than the Left Front here. That has actually found place in the utterances of Narendra Modi when he came here and praised Mamata Banerjee for playing the role of a fighter for freedom or liberation, whatever! The BJP is not going to play any significant role in West Bengal as an alternative to the Left Front and thus it is helping the Trinamool-Congress combine as we have noticed in Modi's speech during the Bengal election campaign.
Question: In the backdrop of escalating violence in West Bengal over the past two years, how does the Left Front plan to restore peace in the state?
Prakash Karat: Well, the violence that the state has seen in the last two years, particularly after the Lok Sabha election results, comes in the background of the rightwing opposition sensing that after some of the reverses suffered by the Left Front, there is a chance to push back the Left. They have used violence in the most undemocratic and barbaric manner. This is the root cause for the escalation of violence now. One dimension of this political violence is the Maoist violence that is again targeting the CPI (M). In this election, this political gang up may once again unleash violence against the Left Front. If the Left Front wins this election, then it would be easier to restore peace and normalcy in certain areas affected with such political violence against the Left.
Question: How do you assess the prospects of the Left Front in the West Bengal assembly elections? Has the situation changed from 2009?
Prakash Karat: Definitely there is change in situation compared to 2009. What happened in 2009 came in a specific set of circumstances at the state and the national level. But I think the political situation has now changed both at the state level and national level. As I said that for the people, a major issue like price rise is directly linked to the role of the Trinamool and the Congress party at the centre. This is one aspect. Secondly, what has been done by the Left Front Government administratively in the last two years and the way we have overcome some of the shortcomings and errors which were there both at the political-organizational aspects and the Government aspects - taking both these factors into account I think that there will be a reversal of the trend that was noticed in 2009 Lok Sabha elections, which would mean that the Left Front would gain ascendance and that would be reflected in the election result.
Question: How are you envisaging the post-poll scenario and its impact at the national level?
Prakash Karat: If we take into account the prospective election result of all these polls in five states, I think both West Bengal and Kerala would be extremely important for the importance of the Left in the country. The victory of the Left in Bengal and Kerala will help the Left continue on the path of struggle for a left and democratic alternative at the national level, which is an ongoing process. I think that would get a fillip and a boost. But I think that the results in Tamil Nadu also would be significant because it will be a direct blow to the whole neoliberal-corrupt nexus, which is now represented by the UPA Government. After all, as I said, that corrupt nexus is directly reflected in the rule of the DMK led State Government in Tamil Nadu. Therefore the Tamil Nadu result would also have a major impact at the national level.
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