Yes, we kill party rebels: CPM leader

[Tiger80]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Freudian slip from a district-level leader has embarrassed the CPM. The party's Idukki district secretary M M Mani's remark that the CPM would never hesitate to kill its political rivals has created ripples across the country. " Yes, we have killed the enemies of the CPM. We have shot, stabbed and beaten them to death. A hit-list of party enemies was prepared and each of them was executed in that order," said Mani, a close confidant of CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, on Friday night. On Sunday, the CPM went into a damage control mode. Pinarayi said Mani had violated the party policies by making such a statement. "It was wrong. He shouldn't have made such a statement. I had urged the leaders earlier to avoid public statements. I'm repeating again that the leaders should avoid making controversial statements in public," he said. Pinarayi alleged that there was a calculated effort from various quarters to attack the party. Claiming that the CPM has itself often been at the receiving end of violence, he said, "The party has never encouraged political violence and we have not grown by political killings." CPM leader V S Achuthandandan rubbished Mani's remarks, saying that the latter's revelations about three political murders committed by the CPM in Idukki in the 1980s were untrue. "I was the state committee secretary then and Mani was not even a district-level leader. Hence, I can say with authority that the CPM had not committed any such murders," VS said. Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi said the CPM was speaking the language of terrorists and Maoists. "When leader of a political party says that we murder our political rivals, it is dangerous to our democracy. Where is the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission)? We should raise our voice against such acts. Our workers keep giving their lives in Kerala," Modi said. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Yes-we-kill-party-rebels-CPM-leader/articleshow/13582356.cms

[Prakat]

"It was wrong. He shouldn't have made such a statement. I had urged the leaders earlier to avoid public statements. I'm repeating again that the leaders should avoid making controversial statements in public,"

Interesting, that the State Secretary, instead of denying or providing evidence to the contrary which would disprove the statements, chooses to chastise Mani for making the statements.

[ravishingravi]

Exactly!

[varun]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Freudian slip ... " Yes, we have killed the enemies of the CPM. We have shot, stabbed and beaten them to death. A hit-list of party enemies was prepared and each of them was executed in that order," said Mani, a close confidant of CPM state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan, on Friday night.

That is NOT a freudian slip. It's a full on confession if anything.

[ganeshran]

Not much of a surprise, The communist party has systematically rigged the entire system in West Bengal and to a lesser extent Kerala. In WB - they use bribery, coercion, threats and violence to win polls right from the lower levels. I remember reading a report in The week quite a few years back on how CPI and CPM wins majority of their elections at the panchayat level unopposed. Even out of power, they have a much better grassroots structure for the party which is strong enough to stick a spanner in the ruling government's works Thats why it was commendable for Mamata to win in WB against all odds but she seems to be squandering the opportunity now

[Sachin=GOD]

That is NOT a freudian slip. It's a full on confession if anything.

and even then there seems to be almost no reaction from other parties.

Not much of a surprise, The communist party has systematically rigged the entire system in West Bengal and to a lesser extent Kerala. In WB - they use bribery, coercion, threats and violence to win polls right from the lower levels. I remember reading a report in The week quite a few years back on how CPI and CPM wins majority of their elections at the panchayat level unopposed. Even out of power, they have a much better grassroots structure for the party which is strong enough to stick a spanner in the ruling government's works Thats why it was commendable for Mamata to win in WB against all odds but she seems to be squandering the opportunity now

One of the biggest reasons for the success of the communists was that they controlled the Unions in WB. Also, WB never had any credible opposition till 4-5 years ago. Then things started going really downhill for Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and at the same time the people finally had someone other than the Communists to vote for so Mamta won a landslide. I agree - if she had been just a bit stable and less unpredictable since coming to power then there was a good chance that CPI/CPM would not have had any opportunity to recover from the disastrous defeat but now they will surely give her very tough competition in Lok Sabha 2014. But Mamta would still have any upper hand - it doesn't matter whether its BJP or Cong who comes to power, if they need extra numbers and Mamta can provide them then she will join in the Govt.

[ganeshran]

and even then there seems to be almost no reaction from other parties. One of the biggest reasons for the success of the communists was that they controlled the Unions in WB. Also, WB never had any credible opposition till 4-5 years ago. Then things started going really downhill for Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and at the same time the people finally had someone other than the Communists to vote for so Mamta won a landslide. I agree - if she had been just a bit stable and less unpredictable since coming to power then there was a good chance that CPI/CPM would not have had any opportunity to recover from the disastrous defeat but now they will surely give her very tough competition in Lok Sabha 2014. But Mamta would still have any upper hand - it doesn't matter whether its BJP or Cong who comes to power, if they need extra numbers and Mamta can provide them then she will join in the Govt.

Its not only the unions, the communists literally behaved as a dictatorial party beneath the top rung where there was a sham of a democracy. The local bodies, Ward elections, panchayats, unions all elections were won on sheer muscle power and intimidation. No wonder there was no credible opposition in WB - opposing parties were not allowed to build a strong organizational structure from the lowest level there and no party can win the state without having the foundation. Mamata got a lucky break in the Singur issue where she was able to drum up public support for the agitation and the years of anti incumbency finally took its toll. IMO it's all those years she spent in combat mode fighting the powerful left that has left her a perpetual opposition politician who is quick to criticize and play victim and yet is unable to provide a viable solution to the problems of the state.