West Bengal CPI(M) is at the receiving end of attacks from BJP and TMC for paying homage to Joseph Stalin
On March 5, it was Soviet leader Joseph Stalin’s death anniversary. And, here in India, the West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist) decided to pay homage to the departed leader through a social media post. And that gesture has now put the West Bengal CPI(M) at the receiving end of attacks from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress.
The comrades in West Bengal would not have imagined that such a huge backlash would be triggered by their homage to Stalin. After all, for the CPI(M), Stalin is among the greatest Communist leaders and revolutionaries the world has seen. And it was only natural to pay tribute to him. Little did they know it was something that would not go down well with the others around.
CPI(M) tweet pays homage to Stalin
The West Bengal Communist Party of India (Marxist) party’s tweet read thus: “We remember one of the greatest Communist leader and revolutionary, Comrade Joseph Stalin on his death anniversary today. The real homage to Stalin is reiterating our vow to continue in the path of struggle for a world free from injustice, discrimination and inequality”.
But then, what was the TMC and BJP thinking after seeing the CPI(M) tweet is obvious. The TMC has launched an attack on the Marxists saying that the tweet means that the CPI(M) does not believe in democracy. TMC leaders believe that Stalin was never a democrat and by observing Stalin’s death anniversary, the CPI(M) also doesn’t believe in democracy!
On the other hand, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) found issues in the way the CPI(M) chooses their leaders. Alleging that the comrades never look for Indians as role models, a leader of the saffron outfit ridiculed the CPI(M) for looking towards Russia, China, and Vietnam for people to adore as leaders. The BJP has also found a problem in the CPI(M) not considering comrade Bhagat Singh as their leader or pay homage to him.
Pointing out that even Russians would agree that Stalin was responsible for innumerable deaths, the BJP pointed fingers at the CPI(M) for celebrating such a man.
CPI(M) unaffected by rebuke
However, the CPI(M) is undaunted at the rebuke. The West Bengal unit of the party believes that remembering history is a must when one sets out to create history. Those who want to create history, they must remember history. Pointing out that a nation forgetting its history, will end up with no history at all.
Clarifying that commemoration is not assessment or reassessment, the left party said it Joseph Stalin has risen against fascism and had led the battle to destroy fascism and defeat Hitler.