Shame! You scummunists

Only the spineless and shameless pays lip service and falls silent without fulfilling promises or achieving goals. What should I call the top-rung leaders of the CPI(M), who, ever since their members won over 60 seats in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, have only been speaking, promising, threatening and doing everything vocal but take a concrete step for the people's welfare?

Remind you that the people who are making all this hullabaloo are the few CPI(M) members of the Rajya Sabha who entered Parliament via a back door, without having to face the populace, but today vociferously “fighting for the common man's welfare”. Whatever that means! 'Coz I never knew that the Indo-US nuclear deal was the most important issue that would affect the common man more than recent hike of the price of petrol, diesel and LPG.

Now, not that I am against the recent price hike, but I am more worried that the government raised the price only by around 10 to 15 per cent while it should have hike the price by at least 25 to 30 per cent if it really wanted to care for the public sector oil companies and was concerned about the future of the country and about what it is going leave as legacy for the next government. If the trend continues, the 2009 general elections will be a good one to lose for any party, because it will inherit only huge deficit and losses.

Coming back to the CPI(M), even if the petro-products price rise is not really related directly to the common man, but if still the party is saying that it would affect the aam aadmi and is worried about it, what has it done in the past week?

The lightning speed at which the West Bengal Government cut the sales Tax on some petro products after the Centre's announcement, and that too without voicing any discontentment, made me wonder whether the State government was just eagerly waiting for the order, so that it could present itself as a people-friendly party.

After enjoying the fruits of being an ally of the ruling coalition, without having to play any role in solving problems but only putting up more challenges to the government, if the CPI(M) top leaders are not taking any step against the recent petro price rise, except for the regular dharna and strikes, what is the use of calling yourself communists?

Let me make it clear that I have nothing against the communists or the CPI(M) or even its cadre. If the party has 63 members in the Lok Sabha then certainly it has some credibility, rather I would say its cadre and ground-level leaders have done a lot of service of the cause of common man. But what have its top leaders done, except to enjoy the power of back-seat driving?

Recently, I was talking to a self-proclaimed communist who can't hear anything against the CPI(M) and thus it is our pastime to provocate him asking questions about Nandigram and Tibet issues. Educated he is on the issues, but also swears by the name Karat and Yechury. When I asked him who the CPI(M) whip in the Lok Sabha or even the party leader in the House is, he seemed to have been caught off-guard and struggled and grappled for the name. This only shows how much the few CPI(M) Rajya Sabha members have hijacked the party and its agenda.

And this is exactly what I am against.

Now, if these few sworn defenders of the common man are, why have they not taken one constitutional step against the petro-price rise? With not even a year left for the elections, why have they not threatened the UPA with a no-confidence motion in Parliament?

Let them not give the excuse of not wanting to let the BJP to come to power. Is there any guarantee that the BJP will not come to power if the CPI(M)-UPA cling to power till May 2009? If the answer is no, why have the top-level leaders of the CPI-(M) not approached the President saying it had no trust in the government that has effected such a price rise, instead of crippling the life of those very people who voted your party leaders to the Lok Sabha – we saw on tv the bandh in West Bengal.

So, are the top leaders of the CPI(M) out there to nationally undo everything the middle-level and grass-root level leaders and cadre have done for the common man and are they just firm on enjoying the power – even if it meant indulging in hypocrisy – as long as possible, even if that meant losing face and losing credibility and facing the risk of a few number of seats in the next Lok Sabha?