The strategy for coveted transformation of production relations - People's Democratic Revolution - fine-tuned at the special congress in Thiruvananthapuram (October 2000) in the Updated Party Programme is a mismatch with the fast-changing Indian polity, forcing the 1.2 million-strong party to recast tactical line, especially after the ignominious rejection of the Third Front or Third Alternative at the 15th Lok Sabha elections.

Nonetheless, like uneven development of capitalism in our multi-structural economy, the pattern of crisis in the CPI(M) - politically, organisationally and ideologically - too is uneven. Undoubtedly, the rot has struck the deepest in West Bengal. On the one hand, the state party chief and Left Front chairman Biman Bose has been able to send down an enervating message to the rank and file - “we have to strike back” while on the other hand, expose of scandals one after another both in the LF government (specially those under the party-nominated ministers) and the party organisation are nipping in the bud the prospects of translating the new message into reality.

The latest - Vedic village land scam - beginning with the Vedic Village Spa and Resort has set off a disturbing chain reaction. “The party has to pay dearly for wishy-washy way of implementing rectification programme in cleansing corruption, nepotism and immoral deviations and it's too late to expect encouraging outcome of rectification even if it is done on a war-footing”, said a senior lecturer in the engineering faculty of Jadavpur University and a CPI(M) local committee member, when asked to comment on the Vedic village affair.

The sequence of events at the Vedic village that two outfits of Vedic group whose managing director Rajkishor Modi has been in police custody - Vedic Diamond IT Links Group (previously named Akash Nirman Pvt Ltd) and Sanjeevani Projects with the state government undertakings like Webel is, to say the least, abominally murky. Sanjeevani began buying (read grabbing with the help of anti-social toughs) lands in 1997 when the Land Reform minister was Dr Surjya Kanta Mishra, CPI(M) central committee and West Bengal state secretariat member. Mutations were going on smoothly - something very strange for a progressive administration. Land reform minister Abdur Rezzak Molla began a probe into the transactions in 2002 and found anomalies that he reported to the then party chief, the late Anil Biswas who was at home in patching things to maintain truce among conflicting factions despite their association with questionable acts and dealings. Over 50 acres were bought by Sanjeevani Properties in excess of permissible ceiling of 24.2 acres. There were benami transactions too.

Sanjeevani moved the High Court of Calcutta when Molla ordered vesting of excess land. On March 13, 2003, Justice Amitava Lala ordered that there be no change of character of land but was mum about “vesting but also didn't nullify vesting'', Molla told the media on September 1. But character of the land - agricultural - was changed, found in a joint survey by the state government and the Vedic group between March 27 and May 29, 2003. On September 4 that year the state government moved the HC for contempt against Sanjeevani which tendered apology but didn't rectify the deliberately criminal mistake. On the contrary three weeks thereafter, Sanjeevani filed a writ petition in the court of Justice Jayanta Biswas questioning both the government's right to vest and HC's jurisdiction. The judge permitted the group to approach the Land Reforms and Tenancy Tribunal which disposed of the petition and asked the company to appeal to the North 24-Parganas District Land and Land Reforms Officer. Sanjeevani instead moved the HC's division bench with the same plea in November 2003.

Strangely enough, Molla's department promulgated an order permitting long-term lease settlements across the state of land which has either been vested after purchase or purchased unknowingly after vesting. This was a boon to the Vedic group which had no difficulties in initiating the long-term lease process for 44.27 acres for the construction of Vedic Village. The government got just Rs 97 lakhs for the lease (Rs 3,670 a cottah against prevailing minimum of Rs 50,000) - far lower than not only the then prevailing price and even less than what was charged to private hospital projects. In the early 1990s, Duncan Gleneagles had paid Rs 35.29 lakh an acre against the Rs 2.20 lakh from Modi over a decade later. Caught on the wrong foot when queried by newspersons, Mollah's plea was that he was avoiding “inordinate delay”.

Some party insiders still give clean chit to Molla, arguing that he was forced to agree. The minister is most outspoken against the intimidatory tactics adopted by the land mafia, “People are being killed, often threatened that a Left government should not put up with”, Molla told the media but hastened to add in despair “I am a CPM minister and the cabinet involves ministers of other Left Front allies, too. So, I won't raise this in the cabinet. But I will tell my wife and go to my party and the market to say that the IT township should not happen this way”.

Toughs such as Gaffar Molla and Gour Mandal who forced unwilling peasants sell away lands are absconding, allegedly in connivance with the police. The government pleader, Bikash Ranjan Dey, asked to interrogate Modi, divulged in utter disgust, “ I have not received any assistance from the police. No documents that I can use to interrogate the accused have been given to me.”

Trinamool Congress MLA from Bhangar, Arabul Islam, is under suspicion as he has been friendly to the Housing and Public Health (Irrigation) minister Gautam Deb, a CC member, who was behind both the Rajarhat New Town and Vedic village concepts and projects. Trinamool Congress supremo and Union Railway minister Mamata Banerjee has directed Islam to stop bonhomie with Deb or his anti-social links. Speculations are rife that Islam may not be renominated in 2011 by the TMC from Bhangar seat which has been a CPI(M) citadel from 1971.

CPI(M) polit bureau member and Commerce & Industry minister Nirupam Sen's unseemly eagerness to help a private group to acquire land for the private airport project at Andal in Burdwan district is questioned by many district committee members of other DCs.. The state government offered loans at rate of interest lower than what the government had borrowed. His department moved for allocation of land at times even before receipt of detailed project report by private promoters. The Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee is not free from allegations of land grab. The building for Purba Jadavpur police station in his home constituency was forcefully taken away according to a recent Kolkata High Court order.

The slogan - “we have to strike back” - basically keeping in mind the state assembly poll in 2011 may be very difficult for not only the CPI(M), but its allies too to implement in part. Out of 294 assembly segments, the LF was defeated in 194 seats, including Rajarhat-Gopalpur in which the Vedic village is situated. The situation shows no signs of improving for the Left as of now. (IPA Service)