THE STATESMAN KOLKATA 26 JANUARY 2007

MY LETTER TO THE EDITOR
NOT PUBLISHED BY THE EDITOR
THE STATESMAN
KOLKATA

I am first writing the mother letter and then writing my crticism on it. My criticism The Statesman DID not publish




Very late realisation Sir, ~ Addressing the Democratic Youth Federation of India’s Brigade rally on 7 January, chief minister Mr. Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee thundered against 8 January’s Bangla bandh called by the Trinamul Congress-led Opposition saying: “Nobody wants Bangla bandh, nobody likes work stoppage... what message will these bandhs send to investors, particularly foreign investors?” A million thanks to Mr Bhattacharjee for his very very late realisation. But what message was sent by the Citu-called Bharat bandh on 14 December, 2006? The response can be heard from the British Deputy High Commissioner, who denounced the Bangla bandh culture only the day before. The fact remains that since 1948 communist-led Leftists have called 63 general strikes or Bangla bandhs. Pramod Dasgupta called a 48-hour Bangla bandh in July 1966. He used to thunder that the Congress should be brought to its knees through a series of strikes and bandhs. He loudly advocated militant trade unionism ~ maar ka badla maar hai, khoon ka badla khoon hai ~ gherao, etc which destroyed the state’s industry which was once a glory of India. Leftists opposed computerisation tooth and nail till 1995, but now they want to become No. 1 in IT in the country. It is the Leftists who institutionalised the bandh culture, but now the CM is opposing it. It is a typical case of Frankenstein’s monster destroying the creator. ~ Yours, etc., Abani Kumar Das and Jahar Das, Kolkata, 8 January.








To
The Editor
The Statesman
Kolkata

Sir

Abani Kumar Das and Jahar Das have simply put the cart before the horse in their letter ‘Very late realisation’ in yesterday’s Statesman. It is certainly not the CPM’s fault that the Bengalis are docile, subservient and indolent but it is surely the Bengali’s fault that the CPM is so devious and Machiavellian. It is a well-known dictum that a political party, like organized religion, soon assumes the character of its votaries and adherents. One just has to cross the State border and enter Jharkhand, Bihar, Assam or Orissa to understand how much we Bengalis are loved, or otherwise, in these States and for what reasons.

Thanks

Sincerely

YUDHISTIR CHOUDHURY 26 01 2007