Report : Beef Festival Boomeranged

To protest against the prevailing “intolerance” in the society, the CPI (M) and its cronies have put up a road show of eating beef publicly. Primarily they thought that it would create a great impact among the youth. To make it more prominent the programme was organised at a city centre, Esplanade area in Kolkata. But unfortunately for them, the whole programme was boomeranged as the organisers were criticised by their own party men for conducting the event. Bikash Bhattacharya, the former Advocate General of Tripura state, former Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation, and a front ranking leader of CPI (M) with few other leaders of the Left Front who had spearheaded the beef eating rally have been severely criticised in state committee of the CPI (M). In fact, the party was vertically divided on this subject. A member from CPI (M)’s Cooch Behar district unit directly accused the leadership for allowing such a programme to be held. They had no idea about what kind of public reaction would be there for this incident.
Former Environment Minister of the Left Front government Manab Mukhe-rjee said that the minority cause and eating beef publicly are two different things. The implications of these two are poles apart. One senior leader like Bikash Bhattacharya should not have indulged in such an incident. Ashok Bhattacharya, another former minister in charge of Urban Development department in the Left Front government who could snatch victory from the grip of the TMC stronghold was very candid in his speech when he said, “Do not forget the grudge of people against the CPI (M) is still there”. So, it is a utopian idea that people have pardoned them for the crime they had inflicted in the mass.
Ashok Bhattacharya said in unequivocal language that if the CPI (M) is still in the back throughout the state of West Bengal, responsibility will solely go to the present party leadership. They were reluctant to face the public after the dismal defeat in 2011-assembly election. It is for this reason that our devoted cadres have changed their allegiance and deserted the party. After the Chinese Aggression in 1962 the party had experienced such a worst type of demoralisation among the party cadres. The Left Front Secretary Biman Bose and Opposition leader in the Wast Bengal Assembly Dr Surya Kanta Mishraa, both have agreed with the points raised by Ashok Bhattacharya.
—Asim Kumar Mitra,West Bengal