THE state committee of CPI(M), Bihar met online on August 7. The meeting was addressed by Polit Bureau member Hannan Mollah. He highlighted the main developments in the international and national arena and underlined the superiority of socialist system which has come to the fore during the coronavirus pandemic. The systemic crisis of capitalism cannot be resolved without embarking on the path of socialism, he said.

Hannan Mollah elaborated on the pro-corporate communal authoritarian agenda pursued by the BJP regime at the centre and the challenges it poses to the secular democratic foundations of Indian republic. It has taken a series of anti-peasants, anti-working class, anti-people measures and has decided to hand over all the national assets to the foreign and Indian corporates.

“We cannot remain mute spectators and we have to come out on the streets and mobilise people to challenge the might of the government,” he said. He said that it was CPI(M) and other Left parties which are at the forefront in mobilising the common people all across the country. He exhorted the committee members to make the August 9 ‘Bharat bachao’ movement successful and implement the campaign program from August 20 to 26 August reaching out to the people at village and panchayat level.

Bihar faces the worst scenario of human tragedy due to exponential rise in Covid-19 positive cases on the one hand and the large scale devastation caused by flood engulfing entire north Bihar, stretching from East Champaran to Kishanganj bordering Bengal on the other.

Bihar government has singularly failed to rise to the occasion and come to the rescue of the people of Bihar who have lost their jobs and now many of their homes and have taken shelter on highways and other such places and are leading the lives of destitutes without food, water and shelter.

The total failure of the BJP-JD(U) government in dealing with the pandemic has caused the virus to spread into the hinterland where people have no access to medical assistance. Patna has become the hotspot and we have seen many leading doctors, legislators and political workers succumbing to the pandemic even in AIIMS Patna. The other hospitals are ill- equipped to deal with the situation as many of the corona warriors like doctors, nurses and lab technicians are getting infected in absence of safety equipment.

Social media is full of horror stories of coronavirus patients trying to get admitted in the hospitals. The private clinics are fishing in troubled water by charging exorbitant fees. The demand by CPI(M) and left parties to take over the private clinics for the purpose of treating the covid-19 patients, has gone unheeded.

The double whammy of the pandemic and the flood is simply unbearable for the 80 per cent poor population of Bihar who have been left to fend for themselves.

The special employment scheme launched by the prime minister from Khagaria district to give employment to the migrant workers who have come back home ended in fiasco. After waiting for two, three months without work, many of the workers have once again left Bihar to earn their livelihood in far off places.

The state committee also noted with grave concern the growing attacks on the dalits, women and other vulnerable sections of the society. Arrest of rape victim along with the two young activists helping her in Araria district, is a wakeup call for each and every citizen of the country who cherish the ideals of justice for all. This spine chilling incident aroused the indignation of the political, social activists. The Patna High court took suo-moto  cognisance  and set the rape victim free.  But the two young activists had to go to the apex court to seek their freedom and now they are free.

A fifteen-year-old dalit girl was raped and murdered in Darbhanga. In Mokama near Patna a dalit girl was burnt to death. In the heart of Patna, a Nepali girl was also gangraped. Many crimes were committed against dalits in different parts of Bihar. In Bhojpur district, a dalit chicken vendor was gunned down by the upper caste people as the vender demanded to pay for the chicken brought by them.

Every state committee member who took part in the discussion painted the grim situation obtaining in different parts of Bihar and the daily struggle of the poor people to survive.

Now the people have been forced to raise their voice, demanding immediate relief by blocking highways and even standing in knee deep water. Many such spontaneous and organised movements under the banner of CPI(M) have taken place in Muzzafarpur, Darbhanga, Samastipur East and West Champaran, Saharsa, Khagaria, Chapra etc.

While noting the enormity of the crises faced by the people of Bihar, the Party has decided to help the flood marooned people by collecting food materials and other essentials from the un-affected areas. Party also decided to mobilise the people and stage demonstrations demanding financial and material help for the flood and pandemic victims.

Bihar state committee reviewed the response of the common people and their participation in various movements launched by the Party.

It was heartening to note that all the calls given by the centre and the state were carried out successfully in Bihar. As it was not possible to mobilise the people in large numbers at one place, but this gap was covered by mobilising the people in small numbers, at hundreds of places all across Bihar. First it started from homes and offices, later on it spilled over in the streets.

The massive response on August 9 All India ‘Bharat Bachao’ call given by different mass organisations, Is a further proof of peoples restiveness against the inhuman pro-corporate policies pursued by the BJP led central and BJP-JD(U) state governments.

Party has decided to reach out to the people in general and flood marooned people in particular to prepare them for militant actions. Party analysed the political developments as the assembly election is scheduled to be held in the months of October-November. As the BJP and JD(U) has started their preparation by organising virtual rallies and are rushing for a digital election process, the Left parties particularly CPI(M) have outrightly rejected this online election. In a written letter submitted to the election commission, the party has demanded that with 37 per cent digital reach in Bihar, this talk of digitalisation of election process, is a conspiracy to de-franchise a large number of voters and usurp the power. Party totally rejects it and demands that the level playing field be ensured for all the political parties and be allowed to go to the electorate observing pandemic protocols.

The prevailing political situation is still fluid. BJP-JD(U) have decided to fight the election together with Nitish Kumar as their chief Ministerial face. Though some dissenting voices have been raised by LJP, but it is more a bargaining ploy than a real rebellion.

With the growing disenchantment among the people against the present regime and its total failure in dealing with the pandemic and the flood situation, there is every possibility of defeating the ruling combination by the opposition forces. For this to be achieved, RJD has a big role to play in accommodating all the secular Left forces. Does the RJD understand the gravity of the situation and the danger posed by the BJP, the political arm RSS? RJD and most of the allies of the Mahagathbandhan have remained silent on the Kashmir and Ayodhya issue. All these parties remained mum when the prime minister of India was burying the Indian constitution on the river bank of Saryu in Ayodhya. Political bankruptcies of these parties have given space to BJP to impose its cultural nationalism on the country.

Even noting the political timidness of these parties in espousing the cause of secularism, the Party is open for electoral adjustments with RJD-led Mahagathbandhan.

The Left parties met in CPI(M) state office on June 17, to exchange views on forthcoming assembly election and their role. It was unanimously agreed that Left parties will fight the election unitedly and unitedly seek adjustments with Mahagathbandhan. But later on, some reports appeared that RJD may accommodate CPI and CPI(ML) in Mahagathbandhan but there was no mention of CPI(M).

In such a situation, the Party cannot wait for the final outcome just before the election process starts. So the state committee identified those seats where the Party has got a respectable number of votes and is active in mobilising the people on their day-to-day local demands. The number goes up to 20 to 30 seats spread over 15 districts. There are five seats where we are on second and third positions, and the Party will concentrate on those seats.