Saffron or red, there isn’t much difference

The Marxists cleverly introduced amendments and divided them into rights and duties. The duties clause stated: “Each government employee shall in the discharge of his duties rise above all personal, political and other considerations and maintain integrity, impartiality and devotion to duty.” So far so good.

But it was the rights clause where politics continued on page 2was sneaked in. It gave each government employee the “right to form associations/unions/federative bodies,” and “full trade union rights, including the right to strike.”

Armed with these amendments, the CPI (M) in West Bengal mastered the art of running a government in which thousands of its employees were linked to associations and organisations openly patronised by them. Having taken care of state government employees, it was the police force that was also given the go-ahead to form associations in the mid ’80s. So the unions that now dominate the rank and file of the State as well as the Calcutta police now openly toe the Left line.

The rules that the govern the administration-party nexus are blatant but couched in complex networks. For example, when Arabinda Ghosh, a government employee retired, he was instantly inducted into the party’s state committee and subsequently sent to the Rajya Sabha. “No one could have got such important portfolios in the Marxist hierarchy had he not served the party for a long time,” says a CPI (M) insider.

Again, when Sukomal Sen retired from government service, he joined the CPI (M) central committee and has been a Central Secretariat member. And the CPI (M) Lok Sabha nominee for Krishnanagar seat, Ajoy Ghosh, was a State Government employee, too. “Though he resigned from service to be in the fray he was no greenhorn to fight a Lok Sabha election. They are all old warhorses. Only, their true colours were kept under wraps as government servants,” says Subrata Mukherejee, a Trinamool Congress leader.

But there are many who don’t even care for the veil of secrecy. An important party functionary in Salt Lake is an employee of the state Food Department. Another Class II Government officer is a known full-time party member. In fact, as many as 3,500 State Government employees are said to have full-time party membership, according to estimates given by party insiders.

As per the party’s internal arrangements, the government employee-members are supposed to pay “levy” to the tune of six per cent of their earnings every month to the party coffers.

For thousands of State staff in West Bengal, the route to the CPI (M) runs via the Coordination Committee of State Government Employees. This committee has immense clout over an overwhelming majority of government employees by virtue of its “bargaining power” with the CPI (M). The official version is one of innocence. “Ours is an apex body of 33 different government employees’ organisations with a membership strength of over 350,000. Our network is spread out from the block level to higher-ups and we do not have any political colour,” says Sushil Brahma, joint secretary of the committee who is addressed as `Comrade’. What he doesn’t say is that the committee’s role is more than bargaining for employees’ service conditions. It’s an open secret that this organisation “remote-controls” virtually all postings and transfers and openly lends support to all CPI (M) programmes.

CPI (M) leaders say that their “involvement” is a different case since the RSS is a “fascist” organisation which doesn’t respect the Constitution. But many feel that it’s not a question of which political group is more benign, the larger issue is the independence of the bureaucracy. Says social scientist Amlan Dutta: “Every government should strive to encourage the bureaucracy to rise above politics. The fact that the degree of politicisation varies from government to government shows that such a goal is very feasible.”

Saffron or red, there isn’t any difference was sneaked in. It gave each government employee the “right to form associations/unions/federative bodies,” and “full trade union rights, including the right to strike.”Armed with these amendments, the CPI (M) in West Bengal mastered the art of running a government in which thousands of its employees were linked to associations and organisations openly patronised by them. Having taken care of state government employees, it was the police force that was also given the go-ahead to form associations in the mid ’80s. So the unions that now dominate the rank and file of the State as well as the Calcutta police now openly toe the Left line.

The rules that the govern the administration-party nexus are blatant but couched in complex networks. For example, when Arabinda Ghosh, a government employee retired, he was instantly inducted into the party’s state committee and subsequently sent to the Rajya Sabha. “No one could have got such important portfolios in the Marxist hierarchy had he not served the party for a long time,” says a CPI (M) insider.

Again, when Sukomal Sen retired from government service, he joined the CPI (M) central committee and has been a Central Secretariat member. And the CPI (M) Lok Sabha nominee for Krishnanagar seat, Ajoy Ghosh, was a State Government employee, too. “Though he resigned from service to be in the fray he was no greenhorn to fight a Lok Sabha election. They are all old warhorses. Only, their true colours were kept under wraps as government servants,” says Subrata Mukherejee, a Trinamool Congress leader.

But there are many who don’t even care for the veil of secrecy. An important party functionary in Salt Lake is an employee of the state Food Department. Another Class II Government officer is a known full-time party member. In fact, as many as 3,500 State Government employees are said to have full-time party membership, according to estimates given by party insiders.As per the party’s internal arrangements, the government employee-members are supposed to pay “levy” to the tune of six per cent of their earnings every month to the party coffers.

For thousands of State staff in West Bengal, the route to the CPI (M) runs via the Coordination Committee of State Government Employees. This committee has immense clout over an overwhelming majority of government employees by virtue of its “bargaining power” with the CPI (M). The official version is one of innocence. “Ours is an apex body of 33 different government employees’ organisations with a membership strength of over 350,000. Our network is spread out from the block level to higher-ups and we do not have any political colour,” says Sushil Brahma, joint secretary of the committee who is addressed as `Comrade’.

What he doesn’t say is that the committee’s role is more than bargaining for employees’ service conditions. It’s an open secret that this organisation “remote-controls” virtually all postings and transfers and openly lends support to all CPI (M) programmes.

CPI (M) leaders say that their “involvement” is a different case since the RSS is a “fascist” organisation which doesn’t respect the Constitution. But many feel that it’s not a question of which political group is more benign, the larger issue is the independence of the bureaucracy. Says social scientist Amlan Dutta: “Every government should strive to encourage the bureaucracy to rise above politics. The fact that the degree of politicisation varies from government to government shows that such a goal is very feasible.”

DMK, TDP, now Samata object
NEW DELHI: After the DMK and TDP, yet another NDA constituent, Samata Party, on Saturday came out against participation of government employees in the activities of any organisation including the RSS. “Government employees should not join any organisation including RSS, Jamaat-i-Islami and even our own Samajwadi Abhiyan,” Samata chief Jaya Jaitly said. The TDP’s N Chandrababu Naidu had said yesterday, “It is not correct to encourage outsiders in government or those who are working in government to participate in other organisations.” And TN Chief Minister M Karunanidhi wrote to the PM cautioning him against allowing government employees to join the RSS.