Singur-Nandigram left out of CPM party Congress discussion at Kozhikode

KOLKATA: The issue of land acquisition and the Singur-Nandigram episodes still haunts CPM but it appears the party does not want to hold an elaborate discussion on it during the 20th party congress to be held at Kozhikode, in Kerala, between April 4 and 9.

Even though CPM is determined to go for a country-wide movement to force the Centre to adopt an effective land acquisition and rehabilitation bill, there has not been a single line mentioned of the Singur-Nandigram episodes in the draft political resolution the CPM leadership has prepared for its ensuing party congress.

Many heavyweight CPM leaders from West Bengal feel that the party leadership has carefully avoided the Singur-Nandigram land movement by Mamata Banerjee in its draft resolution mainly to protect CPM top leaders like Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee from being grilled heavily during the congress.

“There have been struggles against land acquisition in Haryana, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. In Maharashtra, people waged a determined struggle against land being taken for the Mahamumbai SEZ of Reliance Company in Raigad district, resulting in cancellation of the project. The party and the Kisan (farmers) and agriculture labour organisations should take lead to fight the rights of the peasants on land and to oppose any forcible land acquisition,” CPM has said in its draft resolution, without any mention of the Singur-Nandigram land movement by then opposition leader Banerjee.