'Meyeder Brigade' getting good response from women: CPI(M)

Kolkata, Nov 30 (PTI) Leaving no stone unturned to regain people's support in Bengal's polarised political scenario, the CPI(M) is banking on an initiative named 'Meyeder Brigade' to draw women towards the party.

Claiming that women's security in Bengal is in jeopardy under the Trinamool Congress (TMC) rule, CPI(M) central committee member Samik Lahiri maintained that their rights are not assured across other parts of India "because of BJP's Manuvadi outlook." Asserting that the formation of this group in different parts of the state is not about elections, he told PTI, "It is against both these forces that we are forming 'Meyeder brigade' across Bengal for women's empowerment," he said.

The CPI(M) leader said that the formation of the women's brigade is aimed at several things - from imparting self-defence training to socio-economic development and channelling of the latent talents inside them.

Lahiri said that the women's brigades are being formed encompassing villages or in urban localities.

CPI(M)'s women's wing leader Kaninika Ghosh exuded exuberance that the project is getting "excellent response" from women in different places across the state "This brigade is getting very good response, especially from girls and young women," she said.

Lahiri expressed hope that this initiative will have a good impact on women, cutting across economic and social barriers.

"Women who never opened up or got the chance to do so in society are joining the brigade and expressing themselves," the former MP from Diamond Harbour Lok Sabha seat said, terming the project a success in becoming a tool for the development of women in the state.

The CPI(M) leader said that women from the backward sections, scheduled tribes and castes, economically distressed and others are becoming part of it and sharing their experiences.

Participation from young women - college-going or those in their late teens is high, he said.

Lahiri said that at meetings of the brigade, women are narrating their experiences and their outlook for the future.

Asked about the Lakshmi's bhandar project of the Mamata Banerjee government that gives monetary benefits to women in the state, he said, "There is no doubt that Lakshmi's bhandar initially attracted general women." "But women are now realising that the Lakshmis are now suffering sexual harassment and rapes, and the worst part is that the perpetrators are not getting punished," he said.

The CPI(M) leader alleged that many of the accused persons are sheltered by the TMC.

Lahiri claimed that while the Mamata government is doling out Rs 1,000 per month to a section of women in the state under the scheme, it was not performing its core duty of infrastructure development and providing basic necessities to the people.

"There are many schools which do not have any teacher," he said, pointing out that the marginalised people are the biggest beneficiaries of government-run and -aided educational institutions.

Lahiri claimed that students, both boys and girls, from financially backward families are not getting the benefits of government-run educational institutions.

"While the TMC government is giving Rs 1,000 in the name of Lakshmir bhandar, lakhs of self-help groups which were set up during the previous Left Front government have been shut down," he said.

The CPI(M)-led Left Front, which ruled West Bengal for 34 years till 2011, has not been able to win a single seat in the 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2021 assembly polls in the state.

"Women of these groups earned much more than Rs 1,000 per month through their work that gave them a social standing," the CPI(M) leader said.

He said that expenditure in doles was affecting welfare projects and other necessary work of the government, including healthcare and education.

"Gorgeous government hospital buildings have indeed come up in different districts, but there is a huge shortage of doctors and other staff," he said. PTI AMR RG