Naxalites to felicitate Maoist leader from Nepal Saturday , May 31, 2008 Babu Ram Bhattarai, senior Maoist leader in Nepal and politburo member of Maoist party, will address a rally in Kolkata on June 23. The rally will be organised by the newly-formed Solidarity Initiative For The Revolutionary in Nepal. The Naxalite leaders of the state will felicitate Bhattarai at the rally. Kartik Pal, CPI(ML) secretary in the state, said 13 Naxalite and Left-leaning mass organisations have joined the forum. The forum's objective is to be decided soon, Pal added. Amitava Bhattacharya, spokesman of the Mazdoor Kranti Parishad, said the forum will express support to the Maoist struggle in Nepal. The struggle and resistance put up by the Maoists in Nepal were significant, he said. The Mazdoor Kranti Parishad is reportedly active in various areas of rural Bengal. Ganapratirodh Mancha, a frontal organisation of a Maoist party, has already joined the Forum. The Mancha has been spreading influence in Prurulia, Bankura and West Midnapore for long. It organises villagers to raise their voice for rural development and supply of drinking water. Surprisingly, the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) led Left Front, which has been ruling West Bengal for the past three decades, has been left out of this engagement. "The delegation led by Baburam Bhattarai will arrive in Kolkata on June 22. They will be our guests for two days," Amitabha Bhattacharya of the Mazdoor Kranti Parishad told IANS on phone from Kolkata. A number of leading intellectuals, including Ashok Mitra, Aparna Sen, Shaoli Mitra and Sukumari Bhattacharya, would be invited to participate in the interactive session with Bhattarai June 23. The Parishad, along with 12 other Left groups in India, has formed the Solidarity Initiative for the Revolutionary Struggle of Nepal, dominated largely by various Naxalite factions. They include the CPI-Marxist Leninist (New Democracy), CPI-ML (State Organising Committee), CPI-ML (Provincial Coordination Committee), CPI-ML (Jana Shakti), CPI-ML (Naxalbari), and CPI-ML (Liberation). Some other Left parties like the Gana Mukti Sangram, Communist Party of Revolutionary Marxists, the Workers' Party, and the Socialist Unity Centre of India (SUCI) are also part of the Solidarity Initiative. The Gana Pratirodh Mancha - a frontal organisation of the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) is also taking part in the forthcoming dialogue between Nepal's Maoists and Indian Left parties. Initially, the Naxalites had thought of organising a public rally at Shahid Minar - the famous martyr's column in the heart of Kolkata. But now the interactive session and the ceremony to felicitate the honoured guests from Nepal would be held at the Calcutta University's Institute Hall. In an interview given to the CPI-M Bengali mouthpiece Gana Shakti, which was published Friday, Bhattarai has made it clear that he was coming to Kolkata on the invitation of the Naxalites and the not the ruling Left Front. However, that does not rule out the possibility of the Nepal Maoist leader from calling on West Bengal chief minister and CPI-M leader Buddhadev Bhattacharjee before his departure from the city June 24. "Bhattarai and his delegation will be our guest for two days. Their meetings and programmes after that is not really part of our programme," Amitabh Bhattacharya said. The Maoists' decision to accept the invitation from the Naxalites, ignoring the CPI-M led Left Front, had caused some heartburn both in Nepal and in India. Sitaram Yechury, CPI-M's politburo member and Rajya Sabha MP had made several trips to Kathmandu in the past two years to bring about a rapprochement between the Indian government and Nepal's Maoists. "The need for a proper unity of the left forces in the country is much needed," Amitabh Bhattacharya said. He pointed out that serious attempts were made to bring in groups who had major political differences to the Solidarity Initiative. The fact that most Left parties in India and elsewhere in the world have hailed the victory of the Maoists in Nepal made it easy for the Parishad to get the other Left parties together. "Perhaps this is the first step in that direction," Amitabh Bhattacharya added. Political circles in the state feel that the Naxalite and Maoist outfits are spreading their influence among the urban middle class through such political programmes. And the felicitation of the Maoist leader will definitely encourage the Naxalites and Maoist activists in the state. The Left Front had received a jolt in panchayat elections, where land acquisition in Nandigram and Singur — was one of the main issues. Express India / IANS / Thaindians / _______________________________________________ Marxist-Leninist-List mailing list Marxist-Leninist-List@lists.econ.utah.edu To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/marxist-leninist-list
