If only they had a leader like Mamata Banerjee: TMC’s Manoranjan Byapari on decline of Left in Bengal

New Delhi : TMC leader Manoranjan Byapari said that the left parties worked hand in glove with the capitalists when they were in power in West Bengal. Noted author and Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Manoranjan Byapari said that the Left parties lost their ground in West Bengal as they were in cahoots with the capitalists when in power in the state.

Manoranjan Byapari, who was a speaker on Day 1 of Sahitya AajTak on Friday, was asked why the Communist parties are losing ground in West Bengal. On this, Byapari said, “To be a communist, you have to do some work.

Jyoti Basu (former Bengal CM) and his type of people who used to call themselves Communists — they actually worked in favour of capitalists. Whereas Mamata Banerjee, if you see, is the biggest Communist leader in today’s times.”

Byapari lauded the West Bengal government’s Maa Canteen initiative, where one can eat a sumptuous meal for just Rs 5. “If Maa Canteen was brought in by the Communist government, I would not have to snatch food from a dog’s mouth to feed myself.

If only there was a leader like Mamata Banerjee in that party,” he said. Byapari, who himself had a stint with the Naxal movement in the 70s, said he did not receive any formal education and learned to read during his time in jail.

Byapari, a Dalit leader and the sitting MLA from the Balagarh Assembly constituency, accused the BJP of spreading Brahminwad or upper-class hegemony. “I don’t have a problem with the BJP. I am only against Manuwad and Brahminwad.

The RSS propagates Manuwad and the BJP, which is its political representative, furthers it,” Byapari said. He further said, “I am here today even as I was self-educated. If I was allowed the chance to study at school, you know where I could have been.”

About Sahitya Aajtak

A confluence of various literature forms – poetry, prose, music and drama – the festival is a part of Aaj Tak’s endeavour to highlight the importance of art and literature in today’s era. The fest brings together a diverse mix of marquee writers, scholars, authors, musicians, actors, columnists, business leaders, poets and theatre artists, who have made their mark across audiences with their work over the years.

They will unite again on a single platform to express their views openly and engage in meaningful dialogues about the nature of art, culture and literature in the world, and the indelible imprint they leave on the minds and hearts of people.