It has of late become a fashion in bourgeois parliamentary politics to celebrate anniversary of a government’s stay in power. Big advertisements are released splurging taxpayers’ money to highlight the “successes” claimed by the ruling dispensation in the years that have gone by. Hype is created in the pliant media as if such happens to be an occasion to rejoice, make an assessment of the achievements and chart out future road map. The current Congress-led CPI (M)-backed UPA government has been no exception to that. While the Congress and its allies expressed satisfaction over the performance, the CPI (M) and its associates pretended to be cautious critic of the government though renewing their pledge to support the government for full 5-year term.

Everyone knows that the Congress as the most trusted representative of the ruling Indian bourgeoisie had run the government for about 45 years since independence. The hallmark of its rule has been sustained pauperization and ruination of the poor while fortune and prosperity of a handful of rich has been on a continuous spiral. The malaise afflicting the common people in every sphere of life knew no bounds. It was the same Congress which after being out of power for some years, regained the governmental seat capitalizing on the anti-BJP wave and taking full advantage of the abject betrayal to the people’s cause by the CPI (M), CPI. Saddled in power once again, it took off from where the BJP, the other trusted agent of the ruling class, left the job, and began pursuing the same anti-people pro-capitalist policies that have been wreaking havoc in people’s life. People’s mandate was against capitalist globalization or capitalist economic reforms that the BJP had carried out in full swing. The Congress government gave a new lease of life to the policies of the BJP by following the same agenda of economic reforms bringing further disaster to the life of common people. In the last one year, thousands of factories have been closed, hundreds of thousands have been thrown out of job. Indiscriminate retrenchment, lay-off, compulsory and early retirement, premature termination of job have been on the rise. The government has announced that henceforth the policy will be to appoint contract and casual work. It has taken no initiative to arrest whopping unemployment. Rather it is continuing systematic reduction of vacancies in government departments, semi-government concerns and PSUs.

Similarly no effective step has been taken to provide rudimentary relief to the rural population afflicted by appalling poverty and impoverishment. The government has taken no effective move to provide job to the millions of rural poor who are dying of hunger and malnutrition. From unbearable poverty thousands of peasants are committing suicide ; parents sell children for a pittance ; women are forced into flesh trade ; while the media publish buoyant accounts of refrigerators, TVs and washing machines making inroad into rural households. What a cruel joke with those doomed to a sub-human livelihood !

While the government felt no obligation to these downtrodden people, it went on adopting policies and measures to accentuate the economic onslaught. The two budgets presented by the Congress have been blueprints of capitalist globalization. Preposterous taxation, fiscal savagery, huge borrowing to finance budget deficits and hefty concessions to the monopolists and big business have been the key items causing further rise of price-line and increased squeezing of the people. Twice this government within a span of six months of its maiden year, effected steep hike in the prices of petro-products outside the budget. Now it is contemplating to impose another dose of price hike of petrol-diesel on the pretext of neutralizing the effect of the additional cess and import duty levied in the last budget. When the people bleed white under this barbaric assault, the profits of monopolists and big business soar sky- high. Like the BJP, the Congress too continued, if not increased, hobnobbing with the US imperialists, the worst enemy of mankind and zionist Israel as main plank of its foreign policy. In the same tune with the BJP, it is talking of labour reforms as mandated by globalization-liberalization in the interest of exploiting capitalist class. And on a close analysis, it will be observed that this Congress government has no intention to effectively confront the BJP either ideologically or politically though the latter is flaunting its vile communal character with much more ferocity. Instead, as it happens in bourgeois two-party democracy, the Congress in the name of seeking cooperation is following the policy of non-engagement with the BJP. This reality, this naked truth are sought to be suppressed under the pomp and propaganda of anniversary celebration so that the deprived millions remain in a snare of delusion. And the pliant media has been hyperactive in embellishing this camouflage with bounteous publicity as if such is an occasion worth observing with elation and gaiety.

In playing trick with the people, the Lefts (!) of the CPI(M), CPI, who proclaim themselves as watchdog to the Congress-led government, are showing much superior skill. Theirs has been a policy of reaping twin advantage. While they enjoy all the benefits of being on the side of the government, claim to be providing “content and character” to the government policies, they manage to disown any responsibility of the misdeeds and wrong doings of the government. For last one year, this 'dog' has only been watching the looters running amuck but played no role other than that of an indulgent spectator with occasional show of mock opposition. On the pretext of keeping the BJP out of power these self-styled Marxists have taken an oath to keep this government alive no matter what disastrous effect it has on the people. But lest their anti-Marxist social democratic character and capitulation to the ruling class get exposed, they feign to be a critic of some of the policies of the government and pretend as if they have been instrumental in scuttling a few anti-people moves. Whenever they find that their unstinted support to the Congress-led government is questioned by the people, they try to quell the voice of discontent by switching over to thunder mode, criticize the government for its obsession with FDI-led growth that is spawning wrong decisions and policies and even accuse it of bringing legislations in the “interest of big business and foreign finance capital”. But simultaneously they renew their pledge to extend their support to the government for full term and thereby signal a covert go-ahead to the government in pursuance of its policies. Also the apparent thunder is never backed by necessary action to stall any of the anti-people legislations as was seen recently in the case of safe passage to the black Patent (Amendment) Bill and tabling of Banking Reforms Bill. That is why the Congress leaders often say that they do not have any difficulty in carrying on with the CPI(M), CPI. In fact, Union Finance Minister on May 26, thanked his Left (!) friends by saying that “as far as economic policies are concerned, the Left has been helpful and alert.”

And there is nothing surprising in it. While the CPI(M) and its associates make big show in Delhi over increased FDI dependence, opening up of key sectors to foreign capital, privatization spree, disinvestment of PSUs, forced retirement and retrenchment of workers and employees, contract labour system, imposition of cess and duties on petro-products and so forth, the CPI (M)-led West Bengal government is doing all these things with alacrity in the name of development. So advanced is the CPI(M) government in this regard that spokespersons of foreign imperial capital and top brass of Indian monopolists are overwhelmed in their praise for the CPI (M) chief minister whom they have ranked the best in the country. So the Congress leaders chuckled in amusement when the CPI(M) and its allies decided to abstain from the one-year celebration function saying that they had differences (!) with the government. At the same breath, the CPI(M) clarified that this absenteeism should not been seen as boycott of the function. In order to reiterate that this exhibited opposition for public consumption is not for straining but cementing the mutual relationship, the CPI (M) and its associates shoot out letters to the government the very next day assuring their full support for the remaining period of its tenure. Sensing the public rage and ire against the Congress-led government for another year of its misrule as well resentment within their rank, they used this occasion to don the cloak of a critic and spat at the Congress seemingly to confuse the people, camouflage their tacit understanding with it, and securing their position in the coming elections. This is perfidy at its best.

Perhaps both the Congress and its pseudo-Marxist friends are grossly mistaken in assuming that the people would remain ever vulnerable to their hoodwinking acts and deceitful manoeuvres. Political consciousness is dawning upon the toiling millions who are increasingly becoming aware of the hoax of bourgeois vote politics and drawn towards the path of democratic mass movement over burning issues of life and in the process are learning to distinguish between mask and face of the servitors of the exploiting bourgeois class. People’s enemies will never escape the wrath of history.