During the past 32 years the left front has led the state into continuous growth path by creating examples of stable government, atmosphere of peace and pro people development in the state. The people of the state too has observed this and in every elections after 1977 chose the Left Front ion the state to lead the state government. It is true that the last Loksabha poll result in the state was unexpected. We should conduct self introspection as to what has led to this unexpected result. I will harp on one point only “We shouldn’t loose or faith on common people. It is them who create history. It might that a section of the people might misunderstood us for the time being but we should go to them time and again. We should correct our mistakes and should prove ourselves to be rightly eligible for the love that people bestowed us with . Efforts should be made to bring back those who had dwindled from our side in the last Panchayet and Loksabha polls. Not only them, we should also try to bring newer people within our folds.
Veteran mass leader and nonagenarian leader of Indian communist movement Jyoti Basu in spite of ill health due to advanced age gave a rare interview to Ajoy Dasgupta of Ganashakti daily, Kolkata – on the occasion of the Left Front Government stepping into its 33rd year .
Question: Today the Left front Government of the state is stepping into its 33rd year, what is your message to the people of the state for this occasion?
Jyoti Basu: My congratulations to all people of the state. Right from 1977 when the First Left Front Government took oath for a seven times at a stretch the common people had voted overwhelmingly for the Left front State government. Not only in India but in the history of parliamentary democracy across the globe, this is a rare event. The main architect of this rare example lies with the conscious people of the state who had struggled for this. I am grateful to and my wishes are to the people of the state who made it happen.
Question: What do you think is the intrinsic reason behind the fact that the people of the state has voted for the Left Front for year’s running?
Jyoti Basu: That‘s because we always has given more importance to people’s interest in the state. When we came into the state government, then within our limited economic and administrative resources we had to start our work. Today everybody will accept this fact that even with limited constitutional provisions we had been able to work towards realizing and fulfilling many aspirations of the common people. From the day One onwards after coming to power we had announced that the Government will not work from the Writers building but rather devolution of power to the common people will be our motto. Through Panchayet and the ULB’s power has been devoluted to the common people, alongside the Left front in front of the whole country has been able to put up examples of adopting alternative programmes aimed towards interests of the common people of the state. The people of the state has seen this and so in every elections had supported the Left Front of the State.
Question:But in the last Loksabha elections we saw that the for the first time within the last 32 years in an election the opposition had been able to garner more votes than the Left front. Before that in the Panchayet elections too the result of the Left Front has not been upto the expected level. How do you visualize this incident?
Jyoti Basu: Yes its’ true, that the result of the last Loksabha polls in the state has been exceptional. We should carry out in depth introspection to find out the true reasons for this result. Our party and the constituents of the Left Fronts have carried out detailed analysis of the election results. Currently our party’s Polit bureau and Central committee meeting is going on in New Delhi. We can definitely identify our faults in those discussions.
Question: What according to you are the reasons behind this unexpected result in the state?
Jyoti Basu: Our party has said that alongside national issues, state issues and regional issues are also responsible for this result. We have not been able to make people understand our viewpoint to the people, nor could we make them understand about what we want to do. Our rationale about the formation of the Third front or about its signification standing on the present situation was not very clear before the people of the country. That we had to support the Congress based on a CMP to ward of the communal threat of the BJP. The people had realized this very well. But sadly the Congress didn’t keep its word. They didn’t adhere to the CMP and on the contrary went on in the path of toeing US line. So our support towards the Congress led Government had to be withdrawn. However we were unable to make the people understand this fact.
Question: What else reasons do you feel has affected the election results, especially in respect of West Bengal?
Jyoti Basu: I thinks that the statement that land had to be acquired for industries has led to fear amongst people. There also had been propaganda against us that the Left Front government is all set to forcibly acquire the farmers land in the state. This type of false campaign has also affected the election results in the state. It’s a fact that it is the Left Front government which had distributed lands to the lakhs of landless poor people in the state by doing “Operation Barga” and land reforms in the state. People could not bring this fact under realization that by standing on the firm pedestal of agricultural development we had embarked on industrialization in the state. In west Bengal we had advanced much in agriculture. We are now self sufficient in food production, even we are at the forefront amongst all the state’s of the country regarding agricultural production. Still there are more scopes of improvement. Taking help of the agricultural universities we have to further develop the quality of our state agricultural produce and more lands should be come under agriculture in the state.
Question: What do you think to be the responsibility of the left front workers in the state in the post election scenario in the state?
Jyoti Basu:I will only utter a single word, We should not loss faith in the people of the state. Because it is the people who rewrites history. It might that a section of the people might misunderstood us for the time being but we should go to them time and again and should prove our self to be rightly eligible for the love that people bestowed us with. Efforts should be made to bring back those who had dwindled from our side in the last Panchayet and Loksabha polls. Not only them, we should also try to bring newer people within our folds. The conscious people of West Bengal utilizing their developed power of thinking will be ultimately able to recollect from their experience who are their enemies or who are their friends.I am confident that the people of the state will understand who works for their betterment and to take the state towards the path of development or who wants to take them backwards and in due course they will realize it. Ultimately the people will win.
Question: Please tell something about you?
Jyoti Basu: What more shall I say about myself, a few days later I will be stepping on the 95Th year of my life. For more than 70 years I am in politics. But now I am incapacitated. This year my ill health didn’t even permit me to vote. But after the election one thing specially caught my attention and which I liked also very much. Amidst the present situation the state, The Left front has been working unifiedly and has even taken joint resolutions in this regard. No body eve has said something else outside also. It was through many joint movements and struggles that the Left Front has been born. So we have kept a steady fast unity amongst the different constituents of the Left Front. The Fort of the people of the state should be intact and that tradition should be kept alive. These much what I want to say. Again I congratulate all of you.
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