Monday, August 8 2005 10:34 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: Unprecedented voting to delete a crucial provision of land reforms amendment bill has brought to fore the strife in West Bengal's ruling Communist Party of India (CPI) Marxist (M) between the party's 'all-powerful peasants' wing and its advocates of industry-driven development in the state.

The Buddhadev Bhattacherjee Government had to swallow a bitter pill accepting the party's peasant lobby's demand that the land ceiling should not be relaxed in favor of industries and urban development.

It came immediately after, ruling Left Front members in the Assembly on August four voted along with opposition members against a clause of the West Bengal Land Reforms (Amendment) Bill, 2005 brought by the state government which sought to do away with land ceiling.

The new image that the Chief Minister is seeking to build around his Government is primarily based on thrust on IT and other sunshine industry-led growth.

Iron and steel, chemical and petrochemical and agro-business are its priority areas. There are a lot of activities in the IT sector. The Left Front Government is also trying to develop Rajarhat in the city's suburb as the new IT destination.

But leaders of the party's peasant front Kisan Sabha are viewing such a growth with suspicion as they fear it will eventually alienate farmers and agricultural workers, who form the backbone of CPI (M)'s support base.

No doubt, the pressure exerted by CPI (M)'s junior Left Front partners Forward Bloc and Republican Socialist Party (RSP) could have easily snuffed out their protest, as it had done several times in the past, had the party itself not been divided on the issue.

"There were some flaws and farmers opposed it. This was a victory of the people," Minister for Land and Land Reforms Abdur Razzak Mollah commented.

During his reply to the debate on the bill, Mollah admitted he had reservations against the clause.

Born in a farmer's family and known for his conformist stance in party circles Mollah had earlier written to the CPI (M) leadership to take a holistic policy on the issue instead of converting agricultural land by bits and pieces.

Asked whether it would now be difficult for the state Government to provide a land for big projects like the proposed integrated economic zone by the Indonesian conglomerate Salem Group involving 5,100 acres, the minister said "I do not know about it."