PANKAJ BANERJEE, Trinamul Congress MLA and leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly, met the readers of The Telegraph at his office on December 30. Participants included Atmaram Saraogi, Sandip Banerjee, Dipali Das, Sabita Biswas, Sukanta Hazra, S.S. Dey and Bimal Bhattacharya

Sukanta Hazra: Several areas of Tollygunge have become vice hubs, where criminals operate even in daylight. Illegal businesses, like gambling and drug-peddling, are flourishing in these places. As an MLA, why aren’t you taking action against such activities?

Such rackets operate all along Prince Anwar Shah Road, next to the Tollygunge Metro station and the tram depot. Local goons run these rackets with direct support from Jadavpur, Bhowanipore and Charu Market police stations.

Last November, I was taking a lift in the chief minister?s car. While we were crossing Tollygunge tram depot, we spotted people gambling openly. Though the chief minister promised to take action, nothing came of it.

Some local CPM leaders regularly take money from these criminals. Even Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, with the best of intentions, cannot take any steps against them.

Sukanta Hazra: Unemployment has touched a record high in the state. Why doesn’t your party raise the issue in the Assembly?

According to estimates, there are nearly nine million unemployed people in the state. We have raised the issue several times in the Assembly and will continue to do so.

We had demanded an explanation from the chief minister for his objection to the Centre?s proposed mandatory ?100 days employment? programme. The CPM knows that once such a programme rolls out, it won?t be able to use jobs as a bait to induct people into the party.

Bimal Bhattacharya: You often blame the CPM for terror tactics during elections. But Adhir Choudhury of the Congress took on the CPM in Behrampore and won his seat. Does that prove the organisational weakness of your party?

No, this does not indicate that our organisation is weak. In Behrampore, both the CPM and the Congress used their muscle power against each other. This type of competition is harmful for democracy.

We don?t believe in tackling situations with muscle power. But to save ourselves from CPM violence and administration-sponsored terrorism, we may not have any option but to flex our muscles.

Dipali Das: You crib about CPM-sponsored terrorism during elections, but do you have proof of that?

In the general elections, police, along with the administration and Left Front cadre, prevent voters from exercising their franchise. The cadre enter the booth while police and administrative personnel look the other way, and cast bulk votes in favour of their parties.

In college elections, where students have to produce their identity cards before casting their votes, we often emerge the clear winner.

This proves beyond doubt that if genuine voters are allowed to cast their votes, the political situation in the state will be different.

S.S. Dey: Your party has only one member in Parliament now, as opposed to six a few years ago. Is it true that your supporters are deserting the party?

Yes, we have lost five parliamentary seats, but that does not mean that we are losing our cadre as well. In several areas, police and CPM cadre are forcing our activists to quit the party. Those who are not complying are being either beaten up or picked up by police on false charges.

It is not possible for us to take responsibility for the security of all our party members, especially when police are against us. Some people have deserted us because of such atrocities, but new members have taken their place.