Lalgarh violence

In light of the violent incidents in Lalgarh, the CPI(M) in the latest issue of its weekly organ People’s Democracy, has accepted that developmental activities had not reached the tribal population in the trouble-hit region, but has interestingly blamed local bodies held by a rival party for it. “There is a specific problem in West Midnapore which is preventing much of the developmental activities from reaching the tribal population. A majority of the developmental works in West Bengal are routed through the elected panchayats. Many panchayats in the Lalgarh area are led by the Jharkhand Party. They have been the main obstacle in the implementation of many of these programmes and facilitated the entry of the Maoists,” it says.

“The MLA of the Binpur (ST) constituency also belongs to the Jharkhand Party. Lalgarh falls under this constituency. Clearly, there was a political motivation to utilise the hapless tribals as fodder for the Maoist activities by perpetuating their backwardness. Hopefully, with the vacation of the Maoist ‘liberated zone’, the much-needed and much-delayed benefits of developmental work will reach the tribals,” the lead editorial claims.

It contests claims that the West Bengal Government is neglecting development in the tribal areas of the state, arguing that both the Lok Sabha seats reserved for tribals in the state have been retained by the Left Front notwithstanding defeats elsewhere. “Needless to say that much more needs to be done for raising the livelihood standards of the tribals. The state government is initiating many new programmes,” it says.

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