Bhojpur
The offensive launched by the officially banned private army of the landlords, Ranvir Sena against dalits, poor peasants and minorities with the CPI(ML), continues unabated in Bhojpur. Recently this medieval feudal army perpetrated two more massacres. One was under the Chauri Police Station, in the fields lying between Dhanchuhan and Kanpahari villages on 27 November, where four masons belonging to minority community were massacred by Ranvir Sena. Another massacre took place in which five Mushahars (Dalit community at the lowest rung of the social ladder) including a woman and a three year old child were killed in indiscriminate firing in Khaneth village under Pauna Police Station of Bhojpur on 12 December. On 13 December they attacked the CPI (ML) Bhojpur District Office in Arrah town around 6 p.m. firing with sten-guns and injuring one of our comrades seriously.
The latest incident involving the police, took place in Nonaur village, a CPI (ML) strong-hold in Sahar Block. On 21 December 1996 at five in the morning, the police led by the Superintendent of Police Mr.Singhal raided the village and started beating and abusing the people of Nonaur village. In particular, women were mercilessly beaten and 8 of them were taken to the Bhojpur District Hospital in an injured condition. Police brutality continued unabated and they pulled down the house of one Ramji Yadav under the pretext of kurki-jabti (attachment of property). They also pulled out the hand pump to deprive the villagers of drinking water facility. Villagers allege that the police had mixed Aldrin (poison) into the well there. And while this repression was going on against the landless and poor people of the village, right there in the presence of the police, celebratory firing by the Ranvir Sena started from the adjoining upper caste tola (hamlet) of the same village.
Anti-Corruption rallies protesting against the corrupt JD regime led by scamster Laloo Yadav and many of his scam-tainted partymen were held at Darbhanga and Sasaram. At Lahariasarai in Darbhanga district on November 30 more than five thousand poor peasants, women, students and youths took out a six km. long rally in the town. The rally was addressed by Com.Vinod Mishra, CPI(ML) General Secretary, Com.Paras Nath, leader of CPI(ML) Bihar Legislative group, Com.Ramjatan Sharma, CPI(ML) Bihar State Secretary and other local leaders. Commemorating November Revolution, Rohtas District Committee of CPI(ML) organised an anti-corruption rally at Sasaram on 7 November 1996, which was the largest rally organised by our Party in the district. Com.s Vinod Mishra, Nagbhushan Patnaik, Ram Naresh Ram, Ram Jatan Sharma, Rajaram Singh were the speakers at the rally. The same day Left Front had organised a joint rally in Patna. While terming the latter, the so-called ‘Lalkar’(battle-cry) rally as "Fufkar"(hissing) rally, Com. VM pointed out that these left parties have taken a vow never to bite but only to hiss. Both Bihar Government and the Central Government, plunged neck-deep in the mire of corruption, are resting on their shoulders. He also called upon the people to wage a war against corruption.
On December 23 when CPI(ML) MP Com.Parasnath raised the issue of the government's failure to nab the chief of the banned Ranvir Sena within seven days, as was promised by the government on December 7 while the killer army's massacres continued, he was supported by the MLAs from CPI, CPI(M), MCC and JMM who rushed to the well of the house raising their demands. Soon some JD leaders also rushed in to shout down the left-democratic MLAs. The JD MLAs instead started charging ML for perpetrating terror. Protesting against this all the MLAs of the left and democratic parties then staged a walk out from the House -- the first such joint move by the entire left-democratic bloc in the Bihar Assembly.
The joint initiative of ML organisations and MCPI which began with a national convention at Delhi on January 1, 1996 as an anti-imperialist joint campaign continued through the year. After the UF government came into office, the four parties viz. CPI(ML) Red Flag, CPI(ML) TND, MCPI and CPI(ML) Liberation, decided to have a joint campaign against the new government and the range of issues for joint action was enlarged to include implementation of land reforms, price rise, right to employment, state repression, supression of dalits, women and other oppressed sections, punishment to the scamsters and punishment to the Ayodhya culprits etc.
The four parties organised conventions on this basis in Hyderabad, Calicut in Kerala and Calcutta. These conventions were well attended and marked the continuing cooperation among these parties.
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