Back to the US

In 1977,when the Left Front came to the power,it had a definite ideological mooring. Over time,the Left has turned into another political outfit that has lost its idealism. This is reflected in its election manifestoes. A lecture on US imperialism in a manifesto for the state election is absolutely irrelevant. It is sheer stupidity, says Amol Mukherjee,former principal of Presidency College.

Even leftist intellectual Jadavpur University professor Amit Bhattacharya says the Left Front is overdoing the US bashing. Though I believe in Left ideology,I am forced to say the ruling Marxists in Bengal oppose US imperialism just for the sake of opposing it, he says.

Bhattacharya also points out what appears to be a contradiction: The way the government is implementing its policies,it shows it supports privatisation and the monopoly of multinational companies. Over time,it too has emerged a fascist government. The administration and the police are controlled by the party. The Left opposes SEZs but the first SEZ in the country,Manikanchan in Salt Lake,was set up in Bengal. In Nandigram they invited the Salem group to invest. Here lies hypocrisy. The Left manifesto has nothing new to offer.

Economist Abhirup Sarkar,a professor at Indian Statistical Institute,agrees,The Left Front manifesto has become hackneyed and stale. There is a poverty of ideas. Election manifestos are meant for voters but the common man cannot relate to this manifesto as he does not understand US imperialism.

CPM leaders defend what has become a trend. Criticising the increasing US intervention in the countrys affairs and making the people aware of the impending danger are our responsibility towards the people. We are not opposed to Indo-Us relations but we are opposed to anything being imposed on us, says Sudarshan Roychoudhury,Higher Secondary Education Minister.

Former MP Md Selim says,For the last 20 years,American intervention has influenced our intelligentsia,bureaucracy and the media so much that none of these groups endorses Left views. US imperialists are trying to keep a tab on every small matter including municipal and Assembly elections. So we do need to make our people aware about it through our election manifestos. We know our politics better than anyone else does.

Recurring Rhetoric
Lok Sabha 2004

The Vajpayee government has cemented its strategic alliance with the United States. There is increasing military cooperation at all levels between India and the US. The US has set up an FBI office in India and been given unhindered access to all military installations in border areas in the name of a joint exercise.

Assembly 2006

US polls are drawing world attention because it wields so much power and wants to demonstrate it. In a different way the polls in West Bengal are drawing the attention of the entire country. West Bengal affects the entire country because this is where the communists are rooted and continues to be an irritant for the entire country.

Lok Sabha 2009

The Manmohan Singh government betrayed its own Common Minimum Programme to forge a strategic alliance with the United States to sign the nuclear deal,thus undermining our independent foreign policy.

Assembly 2011

US imperialism is responsible for farmer suicides,price rise and unemployment8230; The BJP and the Congress governments both are agents of the US. Since the Left Front is the only hindrance to US interests in India,all these forces are attacking the red citadel in Bengal and trying to destabilise the Left-run government