New Delhi, March 9
It was all chaos and mayhem today at A K Gopalan Bhawan, headquarters of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), when about 100 activists of the Right wing Hindu outfits indulged in unprovoked stone pelting at the CPM cadres gathered there for the Central Committee meeting.
Seven CPM cadres, including Central Committee members, Hari Singh Kang, Joginder Sharma, P.M.S. Grewal, V. Srinivasa Rao and Kumar Shiralkar, were injured in the attack, while cars of senior party leaders parked outside the office were broken.
The attack by the Hindu Manch members is being seen as an offshoot
of the ongoing tussle between the Right wing organisations and CPM cadre in Kannur district of Kerala.
Prakash Karat, general secretary, CPM, strongly condemned the incident, calling it a “premeditated attack” by the BJP-RSS activists.
The attack took place around 11 a.m. when the cadres were having a break from the ongoing Central Committee members meeting, which was being attended by about 80 leaders, including Politburo members Prakash Karat, Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat, S.Ramachandran Pillai and others. “We were having tea during the break from the meeting when we heard slogan shouting outside the headquarters. As we went out to check what was happening, we were attacked by a barrage of stones, injuring our cadres. They tried to enter the building premises, but thankfully our men had shut the gates,” said Inderjit Singh, Haryana Party secretary, and member of Central Committee.
The vandalism continued for more than half an hour and policemen posted at the office remained mute spectators. Several glass panes in the office building were broken and the office cars, including a Maruti Suzuki of Sitaram Yechury, was also damaged.
According to CPM leaders, it was only when the RPF (Rapid Protection Force) members came that the activists ran off from the place.
According to Arun Mehta, Gujarat Party secretary and Central Committee member, it was a planned attack. “The attackers had come with the intention of stone pelting and damaging the property. If you see these stones strewn around, you will realise that these were brought by the attackers in their cars”, said Arun.
The party office was strewn with hundreds of stones and pamphlets, saying “Stop Communist Terrorism” and “Down with Traitors” after the attackers left.
Some known BJP faces of Delhi, including Jagdish Mukhi, Mool Chand Chawla, Mangeram Garg and the present Mayor Aarti Mehra, were named by the CPM cadres as leading the mob.
The police has detained several Hindu Mahasabha members and a case has been lodged at the Mandir Marg police station.
Reacting to the attack on the CPM headquarters, Prakash Karat said, “Irrespective of whatever differences we have with the BJP-RSS, they cannot resort to violence. There is no justification to such an act of violence in a democracy.”
Party Politburo member Sitaram Yechury alleged that the RSS was trying to spread the culture of terror in the Capital, as they were doing in Kerala. “They (Hindu Mahasabha activists) were protesting here against what has happened in Kerala, but the fact is that we have lost the largest number of cadres in the attack by the RSS there,” said Yechury.
Meanwhile, many leaders condemned the incident and expressed solidarity with the Communists. Delhi CM, Shiela Dixit, Union minister Ambika Soni, Congress MP J.P. Aggarwal visited the party headquarters after
the attack.
