In their mutual desperation, both sides have adopted a scorched earth policy that endangers the rule of law and the very idea of governance. There is no parallel to anything like this in what different states have experienced in post-Independence India.

The behaviour and utterances of senior political leaders in Bengal have reached an all time low. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee talks of pursuing “moral and ethical values” in political activities. He sees nothing wrong in sanctioning separate housing projects for only Muslims in greater Kolkata, a dubious first for West Bengal, even while officially opposing any demand for job reservation.

As for Mamata Banerjee, she openly calls for job reservation for Muslims in all spheres and even participates in their religious ceremonies in suitable attire, in a bid to win Muslim votes! But then she has been known to blame even floods and cyclones on the CPI(M), so no surprises there.

Between them, the Trinamool Congress and the CPI(M), by their opportunism have brought the state to the brink of ruin.

The Left Front must bear the brunt of the blame for the present situation, which has clearly spiralled out of their control. For the past year and more, Gorkhas living in Darjeeling and adjacent areas have not paid for the electricity they consume; outstanding bills now amount to Rs 45 crore. They do not pay telephone bills either, flaunt Gorkhaland number plates and signboards on cars and shops; they do not pay state government taxes. They gherao thanas, senior officials like DMs and SPs at their homes.

The ruling Front, the so-called “instrument for the struggles of the people”, fired by the ideas of Lenin Stalin and Mao, is exposed for the pack of cowards that it is. All it can do is call for talks to which evoke no response and wait ostrich-like, hoping the Gorkhas would give up! So who is going to pay the bills? Will the rest of Bengal be taxed more to allow the Gorkhas to enjoy free power and phone services?

Cowardliness of the Left also extends to south Bengal, where the tribals now have openly rebelled against the sleeping state administration that in 32 years gave them neither drinking water, nor hospitals or schools, let alone jobs or economic security. The CPI (Maoist) calls the shots in major parts of Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia districts. The people are with them and co-operate in their small local development programmes like road building or pond digging.

Over a decade or more, Government officials posted in the region could hardly work, because of lack of support from the State secretariat in Kolkata. Ministers rarely visited these parts from where occasional reports of starvation were reported. This is where most of the 4000 officially identified” poorest villages” are. Posting to these areas is considered a punishment.

As for CPI(M) leaders, most did not dare to spend nights at their homes They usually retired to the safety of Midnapore town as night fell. Opposition parties like the Trinamool Congress did not exist. Pro-Jharkhand tribal parties did have some influence that grew because of the excesses of CPI(M) against their opponents.

The late Midnapore district CPI(M) Secretary Sukumar Sengupta did not even obey High Court directives, as land of even middle peasants was taken over forcibly by CPI(M) cadres. “I am the law here” was his favourite phrase. The Bhakat brothers of the CPI(M) brought in relatives from Bihar to settle on territory from which the tribals were displaced, year after year. The CPI(M) named its office buildings after these people!

Is it any wonder that these people are now on the warpath, rallying to the war cry of the Maoists or even the Trinamool Congress?

What is the CPI(M) which runs the front, doing ? It has embarked on a so-called purification drive, a purge, where once more scores will be settled along factional lines. This is said to be the well-pondered response of party secretary Prakash Karat to the present crisis confronting the left. It comes too late to carry any message for the people. It is common knowledge that senior Ministers or leaders not exactly known for their honesty will not be touched!

For the rest, minority toasting is the order of the day. In addition to segregated housing for Muslims, now the Kolkata Corporation will sink 200 tubewells in 37 Muslim-dominated wards of Corporation, to supply them with more drinking water, about 18 months before the next Assembly polls. This was not done in 32 years.

This decision overturns the government's own policy not to sink any more tubewells in greater Calcutta, to arrest the subsidence reported from some areas as groundwater levels went down.

Clearly, to stay in power, left parties are not averse to ruining environmentally one of the greatest cities in South Asia and jeopardise the future for its teeming millions!!

Again, this is on a par with Ms Banerjee's promising Kolkata Muslims 60,000 jobs in the Railways alone, after her takeover as a Central Minister. It seems Bengal leaders, be they of the left or the opposition, simply do not bother about principles of governance.

Everything, everyone must be subordinated to their lust of power. They must “rule” from the Writers' Building, — even though parts of north and south Bengal may become independent areas soon, as the war between the two rival political camps continues to its bitter, sordid end. (IPA Service)