Fernandes Mission: Act of Political Chicanery

Date: 
Monday, September 11, 2000

Press Statement

The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has issued the following statement:

George Fernandes Mission: An Act of Political Chicanery

The political mission undertaken by George Fernandes to West Bengal is nothing but a blatant attempt to utilise the Central government to interfere and encroach upon the affairs of the West Bengal government.

By levelling absurd allegations about the situation in West Bengal, after visiting three villages, the Defence Minister has sought to pander to the political demands of the Trinamul Congress. By suggesting that the life of Mamata Banerjee is threatened, the Defence Minister has resorted to political chicanery of the lowest form.

The threat of using Article 356 against the West Bengal Left Front government is in character with the authoritarian tendencies of the BJP-led government. It is the same George Fernandes who instigated the use of Article 356 twice in Bihar with results for all to see. The people of West Bengal will give a similar and befitting response to those who plot these tawdry anti-democratic moves. The CPI(M) and the Left parties are not perturbed by such threats.

What should concern other political parties, including those who are allies of the BJP in the NDA, is the constant invocation of the draconian Article 356. All the regional parties have been in agreement with the Left parties that the misuse of Article 356 should be ended once and for all.

The CPI(M) and the Left Front in West Bengal have earned the confidence of the people while being in government for the past 23 years. They will resolutely oppose and fight back the violent and anti-democratic tactics of the Trinamul Congress-BJP alliance.

The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) warns the BJP-led government not to engage in any act which will violate the Constitutional framework and disturb Centre-state relations in their cynical pursuit of anti-Left aims.