VZCZCXRO3098
RR RUEHBI RUEHCI
DE RUEHCI #0051/01 0391313
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081313Z FEB 08
FM AMCONSUL KOLKATA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1867
INFO RUEIDN/DNI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE USD FAS WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHCI/AMCONSUL KOLKATA 2284
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1747
RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0798
RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI 0803
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0533

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KOLKATA 000051 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV EAGR PREL IN
SUBJECT: CPM ALLY BARKS BUT WON'T BITE 
 
REF: 07 KOLKATA 41 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary: On February 6, the Communist Party of 
India-Marxist's (CPM) Left Front partner Forward Bloc (FB) 
called a 24-hour strike in West Bengal to protest the February 5 
killing of six FB supporters by police in Cooch Behar district. 
The strike was withdrawn after 12 hours and was largely 
peaceful, although nearly 1000 FB supporters were detained by 
police.  The FB has been upset with "big brother" CPM since 2006 
for acting unilaterally without consulting Left Front partners. 
However, unlike in Tripura, the FB will not leave the Left Front 
anytime soon - it has too many vested interests in W. Bengal. 
Reluctant to give up the benefits of power, the FB will 
demonstrate its pro-people stand while remaining a CPM ally. 
End summary. 
 
¶2.  (U) On February 6, the CPM's Left Front partner Forward Bloc 
called a 24-hour strike in West Bengal to protest the police 
killing 6 FB supporters in Cooch Behar district.  This is the 
first time a CPM ally has called a strike against the CPM.  The 
FB is a junior partner in the Left Front coalition, and was 
founded by Indian national hero Subhas Chandra Bose in 1939. 
The FB has been part of the Left Front since 1977, with 23 
legislators in W. Bengal's 294 seat state assembly, second after 
the CPM.   The FB has four cabinet ministers in the W. Bengal 
government. 
 
¶3.  (U) The Opposition Trinamul Congress, the Socialist Unity 
Center of India (SUCI) as well as Congress expressed their 
support for the FB's strike call, but it was largely peaceful. 
Strikers disrupted rail and road transport services, and close 
to 1000 people were arrested for blocking roads in Kolkata. 
Government transportation was normal; some sporadic incidents of 
violence were reported. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The police firing on FB supporters that sparked the 
strike call occurred on February 5 at Dinhata in Cooch Behar 
district.  FB supporters and others were protesting the CPM's 
alleged failure to provide jobs (for Muslims in particular) 
under its employment guarantee scheme.  North Bengal's Cooch 
Behar district is a traditional FB stronghold and 12,000 people 
took part in the demonstration.  The crowd reportedly gathered 
outside the Dinhata sub-divisional officer's office to submit a 
memorandum, but were rebuffed by police.  Nearly 50 people were 
injured during an ensuing police baton charge and by the use of 
teargas. When that failed to disperse the crowd, the police 
began firing.  Police officials claimed that they fired in 
self-defense.  Four protestors were killed immediately, and two 
died later from their wounds. FB Member of Parliament Subrata 
Bose (please protect) told Post that the February 5 incident was 
yet another instance of police overzealousness.  He noted that 
most of the victims were hit either in the head or in the upper 
part of their bodies by bullets.  Dinhata being a FB stronghold, 
the police should have been cautious, he said. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) The FB's beef with the CPM stems from its belief that 
the CPM has since 2006 been acting unilaterally without 
consulting Left Front partners.  The FB protested the 
CPM-supported land acquisition for Tata's car factory in Singur 
(reftel).  The March 14, 2007, police shootings in Nandigram 
that killed 14 people led the FB to aggressively demand greater 
power for smaller partners in the Left Front's decisions. 
Following the CPM's violent recapture of Nandigram in November 
2007, FB leaders announced that the FB would contest the 2008 
villages elections alone, and not with the CPM. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) In particular, the CPM's actions in the retail and 
agriculture sectors (areas where the FB has traditionally had 
influence) have distanced FB leaders from the CPM.  The FB 
opposes any entry of large retailers into the agriculture market 
and exerts constant pressure on the CPM to hold that line. 
Chief Minister Bhattacharjee and the CPM's slow drift towards 
industrialization and modernization of W. Bengal's agricultural 
sector challenges FB control over agricultural distribution 
chains. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment: Despite their complaints, the FB will not 
break with the Left Front.  FB State Secretary Ashok Ghosh said 
that to do so would go against "general political interests of 
the state."  Senior FB leader Barun Mukherjee (please protect) 
perhaps denying reality told Post that since the Left Front was 
not owned by the CPM, there was no reason for the FB to leave 
it.  In West Bengal, the FB has a decent presence in the 
assembly and more importantly, enjoys control over four 
 
KOLKATA 00000051  002 OF 002 
 
 
government departments.  As for the February 5 killings, what 
matters to the FB is that the government looks into the violence 
and ensures that it is not repeated.  The intention behind FB 
leaders' vocal criticisms of the CPM is to boost the morale of 
disenchanted FB grassroots workers - often victims of CPM 
cadres' domination in the villages - before village polls in 
May. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) Comment continued: In Left Front ruled Tripura, on the 
other hand, the FB has left the Front to fight the February 
assembly elections on its own.  The FB does not have a single 
legislator or minister and its position is so weak that the CPM 
usually allots it one of 60 assembly seats to contest.  This 
time FB had demanded 3 seats but CPM refused.   The FB has 
nothing to lose by leaving the Left Front there. 
JARDINE