COVER STORY APRIL 2021 CENTRAL ORGAN OF CPI(ML) Rs. 25 COVER STORY MLAs Brutally Beaten Inside Bihar Assembly, Police Raj Act Passed The first use of the Bihar Special Armed Police Bill 2021 was perpetrated inside the Bihar Assembly itself on 23 March. Shattering all rules and traditions of the constitutional and parliamentary system, police and goons entered the Assembly, brutally beat up opposition MLAs and pushed them out, after which BJP-JDU passed the draconian Bihar Special Armed Police Bill 2021 changing Bihar into a Police Raj. Earlier, when the Assembly session commenced on 23 March the Opposition started protesting against the Police Raj Bill. The session was adjourned a few times due to opposition protests, and proceedings were obstructed throughout the day. At 5 pm before the session was to end, a large number of RAF police personnel were called inside the Assembly on the orders of the Speaker and the government. Marshals were of course already present. The Bihar DGP, Patna SSP and DM jointly oversaw the beating, kicking, fisticuffing of MLAs as they were pushed and dragged out of the Assembly. The SSP and DM were themselves among those who did the brutal beating. The entire Assembly was filled with police personnel and the Police Raj Act was passed in the complete absence of the Opposition. Journalists were also beaten up. Leader of CPIML legislative party Comrade Mahboob Alam's arm was twisted and wrenched. Comrade Sudama Prasad was pushed and shoved and he fell down the stairs, causing a serious finger injury. A CPIM MLA was so badly beaten up that he lost consciousness. A woman MLA's sari was pulled off. Some of those who perpetrated the beating up were in civilian clothes, probably BJP goons. In the past there have been clashes amongst MLAs inside the Assembly, but this is possibly the first instance in Indian parliamentary history when the police have beaten up MLAs inside the Assembly. It is forbidden to bring weapons into the Assembly, but the police entered armed with weapons. Now the only thing that remains is police firing inside the Assembly. 23 March 2021 will be recorded as a Black Day in the parliamentary history of India. Next day on 24 March there were protests inside the Assembly against this Bill by the opposition MLAs. CPIML MLAs attended the session wearing black bands and the day was observed across Bihar as Dhikkar Diwas (Day of Shame). CPIML held protests all over Bihar and burnt effigies of CM Nitish Kumar. In Patna activists condemned the shameful attack on MLAs and burnt the effigy of Nitish at Chitkohra. Protesters demanded to take back the unconstitutional and draconian Bihar Special Armed Police Bill 2021 which has been passed using police force beating opposition MLAs inside the Assembly immediately. CPIML Bihar Secretary and Polit Bureau member Kunal condemned the beatings and termed that day a black day in the history of India’s parliamentary democracy. He said this heinous crime explains clearly that the Nitish/BJP regime is taking Bihar towards a fascist state. The CPIML had expressed its apprehension of misusing the power if this Bihar Special Armed Police Bill 2021 was passed, and those apprehensions came true right on the day of its tabling and undemocratic passing inside the Assembly. The women MLAs were not spared and they too suffered same brutality. When MLAs are not safe inside the Assembly and they were not allowed to express their views on the draconian Bill, instead got beaten up and thrown out on the road, this is amply clear that after passing of this Bill what will be the plight of common citizens when police is given full immunity to perpetrate the attacks on citizens’ rights? Kunal asked to identify the attackers who were in civil dress along with the armed forces inside the Bihar Assembly, and also why the district magistrate of Patna himself seen to be pushing and attacking MLAs inside the Assembly? Opposition MLAs conducted the Assembly session outside the Vidhan Sabha For the first time in the annals of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha, in protest of the incidents of 23rd March all Opposition MLAs conducted the Assembly session outside the Vidhan Sabha on 24 March. A Speaker was elected to conduct the proceedings, and opposition was registered to the manner in which MLAs were beaten and pushed out of the Assembly on March 24. Many things are being witnessed for the first time in the Bihar Vidhan Sabha. This is the first time in its 100-year history that police entered the Assembly, and this is the first time that angry Opposition members conducted the session outside the Assembly. Despite blazing heat the session was conducted by the Opposition. Opposition members elected RJD MLA Bhudev Chaudhury as Speaker, and sat on the floor while he occupied the Speaker's chair and issued rules and regulations as the Speaker. Many members participated in the proceedings. CPIML MLA Satyadev Ram said that the beating up of members inside the Assembly was a very serious issue and demanded a discussion on the matter. All this took place while proceedings were on inside the Assembly and Ministers were going on without the presence of any opposition party MLA. The question hour was being conducted only with ruling party members inside the Assembly. And Maheshwar Hazari was being unanimously elected Deputy Speaker inside the Assembly. Outside, Bhudev Chaudhury was in the Speaker's role, he also had filed his nomination for the post of Deputy Speaker did not go inside the Assembly. With this protest Assembly, a new tradition was started in the history of the Bihar Vidhan Sabha by Opposition members conducting the proceedings of the session outside the Assembly. editorial Golden Jubilee of the Independence of New Series Vol. 26 No. 12 Bangladesh MARCH 2021 CONTENTS COMMENTARY Modi Regime’s Latest Assault on Federalism and Democracy ........... 5 DEBATE Saving WB from Fascist Takeover .. 6 (1995) SPECIAL FEATURE Tightening Noose of Fascism ....... 10 COMMEMORATION Muktir Gaan Chauri-Chaura Centenary .............23 Champaran Satyagrah, Swami Sahajanand & Farmers' Protest .....27 of Cover Editor-in-chief ndia’s eastern neighbour Bangladesh celebrates the golden jubilee Dipankar Bhattacharya of its independence on 26 March, 2021. The golden jubilee also Editor Icoincides with the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Arindam Sen Rahman, leader of the Bangladesh liberation war and founding President Editorial Board of the nation which successfully seceded from Pakistan in 1971. Separated Kavita Krishnan from India as East Pakistan in August 1947, it took less than twenty-five V. Shankar years for the new nation to attain its independence from Pakistan as the Sanjay Sharma bonds of language, culture and geography proved to be much stronger than religion and state-defined nationalism. The battle which began in Editors' e-mail: 1952 over the rights of Bengali language as the mother-tongue of the [email protected] people of East Pakistan grew into a full-scale national liberation war in two decades and led to the emergence of the nation-state of Bangladesh Art: V Arun Kumar defying the imposed integument of the state-nation of Pakistan. The emergence of Bangladesh vindicated the centrality of language in the Manager formation of national identities and remains an inspiring lesson for the Prabhat Kumar current of national liberation struggles. Phone: 7042877713 The international climate has of course undergone a sea change in Website: www.cpiml.net the last five decades. The liberation war of Bangladesh had received E-mail: [email protected] strategic support not just from India but also from the Soviet Union which 36 pages including covers had effectively nullified any threat of American military intervention. That was also the era of the Vietnam war and national liberation struggles Annual Subscription Rates and revolutionary upswings in many parts of the world. One could clearly India Rs. 300 see the ideological imprint of that climate in the direction chosen by the Abroad US$ 60 new country – socialism, nationalism, secularism and democracy. But before the fledgling republic could consolidate the gains of liberation and Send M.O. or Bank Draft overcome the huge economic challenges of rebuilding the economy, a in favour of series of military coups and political convulsions gripped Bangladesh. Liberation Publications Sheikh Mujib and his family were assassinated, several of his cabinet Payable at Delhi to colleagues were arrested and later killed and the secular democratic U-90 Shakarpur, Delhi 110 092 orientation of the new republic suffered an early setback. LIBERATION - CENTRAL ORGAN OF CPI(ML) | APRIL 2021 | 3 editorial Today much like the Indian Bangladesh – revolves around the time as voting begins in West state’s departure from the bogey of ‘influx of Bangladeshi Bengal and Assam. The attempt constitutional values and goals of infiltrators’ and the shrill cry to to mix up foreign policy matters secularism, democracy, justice, deport them. India’s Home Minister with domestic political calculations liberty, equality and fraternity, Amit Shah uses the word ‘termites’ can only complicate and distort our Bangladesh too is caught in a to describe the alleged ‘infiltrators’, foreign policy framework. serious crisis of democracy. Amidst with the inescapable inference The emergence of Bangladesh growing corruption, nepotism, that the country must be saved by was the most telling refutation chaos and misrule, fundamentalist exterminating these termites. of the two nation theory and forces and autocratic tendencies are on the rise. Elections are no the perilous project of defining longer considered fair and credible; The emergence nation and culture on the basis of dissenting citizens, writers and religion. It was a historic moment of artists are being persecuted and of Bangladesh affirmation of diversity and dignity in even assassinated; and the state democracy.