Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07KOLKATA295
2007-09-21 11:37:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Kolkata
Cable title:  

WEST BENGAL VILLAGERS WANT FOOD NOT IDEOLOGY: ATTACK

Tags:  PGOV PREL IN 
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ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P R 211137Z SEP 07
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1700
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0018
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK NY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0053
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1606
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2084
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KOLKATA 000295 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: WEST BENGAL VILLAGERS WANT FOOD NOT IDEOLOGY: ATTACK
COMMUNIST OFFICIALS

KOLKATA 00000295 001.2 OF 003


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KOLKATA 000295

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL IN
SUBJECT: WEST BENGAL VILLAGERS WANT FOOD NOT IDEOLOGY: ATTACK
COMMUNIST OFFICIALS

KOLKATA 00000295 001.2 OF 003



1. (U) Summary: On September 16, villagers in West Bengal's
(WB) Left Front ruled Bankura district attacked local Communist
leaders who had arranged a meeting to protest the U.S.-India
civil nuclear agreement (referred to as the 123 agreement). The
villagers insisted they wanted food, not slogans, and are fed up
with the deep-rooted corruption in the public distribution
system and the in-fighting between rations dealers (who are
Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPM) members.) The
developments in Bankura raise a worrisome issue for West
Bengal's CPM leadership: that bread-and-butter issues matter
more to their electorate than abstract policy issues like the
nuclear deal. At the same time, rivalries and factionalism in
local level CPM party units are peaking due to the ongoing
elections for branch, zonal and district committees in the
state. For the WB group of CPM leaders, the practical business
of governing a state is putting them at odds with the
ideological positions staked out by other CPM leaders on
national issues like the 123 agreement. WB Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee announced that he would not resort to
blind anti-Americanism; a sign of conflicting priorities within
the CPM in the run-up to September 28 Politburo meeting in
Kolkata. End Summary.

--------------
Food Riots
--------------


2. (U) On September 16, villagers in the Bankura district of
Left Front-ruled WB attacked local Communist leaders in a
meeting that was organized to protest the U.S.-India civil
nuclear agreement. Faced with food shortages, the villagers
insisted they wanted rice and not slogans. Villagers from
Radhamohanpur came to the CPM's "anti-imperialism" protest to
complain about the hoarding of food grains by ration-shop
owners. Local panchayat (local self-governance bodies) and CPM
leader Pabitra Mondal, who was addressing a crowd about the
dangers of the 123 Civil Nuclear Agreement, tried to dismiss the
villagers, who he had earlier refused to meet. The
confrontation turned violent, and the police opened fire,
injuring four people. The same day a 1,000-strong mob stormed
the house of local CPM leader and ration dealer N.C. Dutta in
Kotalpukur village. Violence followed and Dutta himself fired a

gun at the villagers, injuring 13. On September 17, a mob beat
up rations dealer Moinuddin Chowdhury in Bhagitpore and
ransacked the ration shop and home of Fazlur Haq Mullick in
Chandai. Similar incidents took place in Barjora, Patrosayer
and Gopalpur. On September 19, angry villagers surrounded a
food department convoy and demanded that visiting officials
immediately punish corrupt ration dealers. As a result, the
state government has suspended twenty-six ration dealers in
Bankura district.

--------------
Rations for Sale
--------------


3. (U) Corruption in the public distribution system is
deep-rooted. In the state districts, a number of rations
dealers are either CPM members or cronies of local party
leaders. By virtue of their political clout and party backing,
they are allotted dealerships and entitled to collect food
grains and kerosene oil meant for distribution to local
ration-card holders at fixed rates. Very often, these
subsidized rations are instead sold at market rates to other
grocers or to the public. This practice inevitably leads to a
shortage of food for poor villagers.


4. (U) The recent outbursts are not only a manifestation of the
ire of the "have-nots," but also indicate in-fighting between
local CPM members. In some localities, particular factions
within the CPM dominate and reap the monetary benefits. Weaker
factions backed the villagers' protests to get even with their
rivals. (Comment: Although initially observers suspected Maoist
involvement in fomenting the incidents, journalists who
interviewed locals who were involved concluded that corruption
and internal CPM dissensions were responsible. End Comment.)


5. (U) CPM members who are outside the factionalism are unable
to contain the in-fighting because the local, corrupt CPM
members exercise the de facto control of the vote banks at the
grassroots level. The WB government acknowledged that a number
of ration dealers are engaged in corrupt practices and ordered a
magisterial inquiry into the September 16 incidents. Police
have started arresting ration dealers indulging in hoarding and

KOLKATA 00000295 002.2 OF 003


siphoning off food grains meant for the public distribution
system.

--------------
Bread, Not Cake
--------------


6. (U) The developments in Bankura confront the WB CPM
leadership with the worrying prospect that if mid-term elections
are precipitated by the Left's withdrawal of support for
national government over the 123 Agreement, bread-and-butter
issues will matter more to the state electorate than the nuclear
deal. CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat's strong objection to
the 123 Agreement may be driven by anti-American ideology but
was also likely intended to foster unity amongst the Left. The
past year, the Left parties have been beset by internal disputes
over economic reforms, the March killings in Nandigram of
protestors opposed to land acquisition for industry, and
differences over large-scale retail investment. However, the
CPM leadership worries that mid-term elections could mean fewer
seats for the CPM in WB. State secretariat members feel that
the deal needs to be opposed, but not by withdrawing support at
the Center. State government and party leaders - Chief Minister
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, State Industries Minister Nirupam Sen,
former Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, and Left Front Chairman Biman
Basu -- agree that the public would not appreciate snap polls
due to the rigid stance of the Left on the nuclear deal, an
issue that has no popular appeal at a time when controversies
revolve around more local issues like the government's plans to
acquire land for industry and corruption.

--------------
Poll Peril
--------------


7. (U) Moreover, rivalries and factionalism in local level
party units are increasing due to the ongoing elections for CPM
branch, zonal and district committees. These party elections
are the run-up to the CPM all-India party conference scheduled
for January 2008. The CPM's vote bank calculations have also
been upset by the small, but growing section of Muslims who feel
threatened by the prospective loss of their farmland to the
CPM's industrialization drive. For the first time, small, but
vocal Muslim parties are appearing and challenging CPM control
in some rural and poorer areas of the state. As well the
opposition Trinamul Congress has sought to position itself as a
true supporter of the poor and wrest control of these
constituents from the CPM. The state panchayat polls are
scheduled for the summer of 2008 and. Early Parliamentary polls
may result in the loss of some seats for the Left although it
will remain the dominant political force in the state. However,
Left-watchers point out that W. Bengal's CPM representatives are
still a minority in the Politburo and Central Committee and it
would be tough for them to influence the party's decision at the
national level should Karat opt for drastic measures towards the
national government. The current 17-member Politburo has only
three members from W. Bengal. Likewise, the 85-member Central
Committee has only 18 West Bengal members.

--------------
Bengal Comrades Strike Back
--------------


8. (U) On September 18, in an interview with leading
Bengali-language daily Anandabazar Patrika, Chief Minister
Bhattacharjee announced that State Industries Minister Sen will
be visiting the U.S. to attract investment to W. Bengal.
Bhattacharjee explained that the Left has differences with the
national governing United Progressive Alliance (UPA) on the
nuclear deal and with the U.S. on ideological issues, but that
did not mean resorting to blind anti-Americanism. He cited the
example of U.S. investments in communist Vietnam.
Bhattacharjee is aware that he cannot alter the party's decision
if Karat persists with his hard-line on the national stage, but
his declarations to the media are his way of publicly asserting
the WB state leadership's position to put pressure on Karat in
the run-up to the Politburo meeting. Left-watchers have started
speculating about the possibility of a change in the top
echelons of the CPM during the party conference in early 2008.
Many feel that Politburo member Sitaram Yechury would be the
perfect choice for the "Bengal group" to replace Karat as
General Secretary in the Politburo. Yechury is perceived as a
liberal and moderate, particularly compared to Karat, and is
considered to be more amenable to progressive ideas and change.

KOLKATA 00000295 003.2 OF 003




9. (U) Comment: The WB CPM is caught between state and
national priorities. For state CPM leaders "all politics is
local." Ideological posturing has to be subordinate to the
fundamental vote-bank politics at the state level. The WB CPM
are witnessing the initial stirrings of discontent with their
policies among their poorest constituents, and while there is no
real possibility of their hold on West Bengal being dislodged,
the prospect of a weakened position is worrying. The state
party unit is keen to avert early elections and protect its
newfound economic reform image to further the state's
development. Remarks by CM Bhattacharjee seemingly at odds with
CPM General Secretary Karat are unusual for a party noted for
strictly maintaining a public veneer of consensus and are
indicative of growing internal tensions. That said, some in the
Kerala group have breached with party discipline yet retained
their official positions, which may be emboldening the Bengal
group. Statements by CPM officials around the upcoming
September 28 Politburo meeting in Kolkata will be good
indication of whether the Bengal CPM faction will be able to
force Karat to moderate the party's polemic against the 123
Agreement and "American Imperialism," and refocus the party on
more pressing social and economic issues.
JARDINE