Opinion Speaking of the comrades

For Anil Basu was merely exhibiting the exact,crude political vocabulary and culture the communists inculcated over decades in Bengal. This is not the first time that Basu has done this. Earlier,after the Singur agitation,he was equally derogatory at a public forum,describing how Banerjee should have been pulled by her hair and dumped in her Kalighat home,instead of being allowed to continue with the sit-in. Bhattacharjee himself has time and again said in public that he hates to take the name of “that woman” and,therefore,always referred to Banerjee as “that woman”. It is also in the public domain as to how one of the seniormost CPM leaders,Benoy Konar — chief on the agricultural front and a central committee member — exhorted CPM party workers during the Nandigram-Singur agitation,saying that if Banerjee and Medha Patkar continued to make forays into rural Bengal,the womenfolk would soon begin showing their “backside” to them.

An array of celebrated communist leaders in Bengal has thus inspired little respect with such utterings and ideas about women. Not just the opposition,but even within the CPM,male domination has been more than pronounced. There is a lot of literature,composed by Bengal’s venerated women communist leaders like Chabi Basu,Sabitri Roy,describing how women comrades had been subjects of “exploitation” and how they had been “used” by senior leaders. Roy’s novel Swarolipi (The Notations,1952) had to be banned by the then leadership for depicting the plight of women in the undivided Communist Party of India. Even after the CPI’s split in 1964,there was little to cheer about women comrades in the CPM hierarchy. Insiders admit how it took 42 years — from 1964 to 2006 (the 18th CPM party congress) — to induct one single woman as a CPM politburo member (Brinda Karat). In Bengal too,barring one or two,women leaders at the party’s highest policy-making fora are practically absent. In governance too,the portfolios distributed to women have been grossly mismatched to those of their male counterparts in terms of number and importance. Had it not been for the fear of losing votes,there is a grave doubt if Anil Basu would ever have faced the censure.

It is worth taking a look at the other aspect of “big client” America who the CPM felt was funding the Trinamool’s poll expenses. Yet again,this is one complaint floated by the topmost leadership,including Bhattacharjee,Biman Bose and the emerging star Gautam Deb — the Left Front’s housing minister — without any substantial evidence. And yet again,the invocation of the American bogey appears a set-piece from the communists for rabble-rousing in order to rationalise a debacle. The inherent contradictions are well-pronounced. Jyoti Basu’s annual visits to the US and London to rope in foreign investment are part of history. His successor has pursued the same,and more vigorously.

Many American leaders and officials did respond to Bhattacharjee’s fervent appeal for investment and explored the state’s potential,showing interest in helping. It had been a brief interlude for Bhattacharjee when his desperation for investment forced him to seek “capital” from whatever source possible,and not see the “colour of the capital”,as long as it came to Bengal. But after Nandigram,Singur and the 2009 debacle and now being on the verge of an almost inevitable defeat,Bhattacharjee and his comrades can no more afford that line. They have once again reverted to distinguishing the colours of the money. The “black money” from America,to be precise.

subrata.nagchoudhury@expressindia.com