October 4, 2011
Trinamool rampage continues in Jangalmahal, MKP activist brutally beaten up
a report by Partho Ray
The aim of the Trinamool Congress to convert areas of the Jangalmahal districts into no-go zones for other political parties/organizations continues with the brutal beating up of an organizer belonging to the Mazdoor Kranti Parishad (MKP) at Chandabila village under Garbeta police station in West Midnapur district. Chandabila, in Garbeta, has had a history of resistance against political oppression, and is the native village of Sudip Chongdar (Kanchan), the former state secretary of the CPI(Maoist) who is currently imprisoned. Even during the worst excesses under Sushanta Ghosh, the CPI(M) MLA and former minister, who had treated the Keshpur-Garbeta belt as his personal fiefdom and where no deviation from the CPI(M) line was allowed, the people of Chandabila had resisted and tried to organize under alternative political banners. In “post-parivartan” Bengal, the Trinamool Congress is trying to root that out.
Rustam Mondal, the MKP activist who has been attacked, was originally with the CPI(Maoist) in the early 2000’s, when he had worked closely with Asit Sarkar, who was one of the important organizers of the CPI(Maoist) in the Jangalmahal areas during the early “janajudhha” phase of the movement there. He had subsequently left CPI(Maoist) and joined the MKP, becoming an important activist of the organization in the area. He had suffered many threats from the Tapan Ghosh-Shukur Ali duo, the infamous CPI(M) leaders who controlled the area on behalf of Sushanto Ghosh. Now, after the TMC came to power, and Sushanto Ghosh was imprisoned, the TMC leaders, many of them formerly from the CPI(M), have taken over control of the area and explicitly declared that anyone doing any sort of politics except of the TMC variety would not be allowed to remain in the area. Rustam Mallik and another MKP activist, Iyajuddin Mandal, who had been organizing the villagers there became their targets. The TMC goondas, under the leadership of Shaker Ali and Kalu Khan attacked their houses multiple times, threatening them to either leave their political organization or leave the area. On 2nd October a MKP delegation had given a deputation to the local police authorities asking for police action against the TMC goondas and allowing everyone to do the political organization of their choice. The police inspector of Garbeta PS promised to do that and said that he would ensure the protection of activists such as Rustam Mondal. However, on 3rd October evening, Rustam Mallik was surrounded by a group of 7-8 TMC goondas led by Shaker Ali and Kalu Khan and brutally beaten up with iron rods, sticks and shoes. He was rescued by Iyajuddin Mandal and other villagers and has been hospitalized with serious injuries. The TMC goons are going around in the area threatening that anyone trying to go there from outside would be “buried at the Garbeta bus stop itself”.
This is the scenario in all parts of jangalmahal now, with activists of opposition parties coming under attack by the TMC goons on one hand, and the administration banning all democratic meetings or rallies by organizations such as the Nari Ijjat Bachao committee on the other. This is the “parivartan” that is so apparent in Bengal.
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