On December 30, '96, Lalloo Singh, a supporter of PU, was killed in Chelhi (Chattarpur). On March 22, '97 they attacked a squad when it was taking rest and killed three including commander Harendar. On March 29, '97 they invited a squad of PU for talks to Badwaar in Bandaria (Garhwa) and suddenly forced them to surrender and looted the arms. In '97 July the Bihar state committee took the decision to retaliate. In '97 November the last CC-level meeting between MCC and PU took place. It was decided to form a Central fact finding committee to go into the incidents of clashes. But this was conveniently abandoned by MCC. Thus it was a common practice for MCC to take joint decisions, violate them or misinterpret them or even to declare that no agreements had taken place especially when they were not in a written form.

Another amusing thing is that the MCC, while stepping up its attacks against PW cadres all along, had tried to project itself as the victim claiming that it had "to sustain loss for their (PW) petty-bourgeois aggressive mentality in Bihar, Midnapur of WB and some other places." They also alleged that "the attitude of PW sharply indicates as if they are a big Party who are..." They concluded that this is "the root of their (PW) overlording attitude and activities."

We feel ashamed to even think of replying to such wild and baseless accusations. MCC thinks that by describing a horse as a donkey over and over again, it will succeed in establishing it as a donkey. For who does not know that it was the armed squad of MCC which crossed over to West Bengal from Bihar that had brutally attacked a state committee member of PW in Belpahari of Midnapur? Whatever the MCC had tried to attribute to PW, actually applies to itself. In all the bilateral meetings with PU it exhibited big brother attitude. It put pressure to give up 60 percent of the latter's area of work in Palamau and 40 percent in entire Bihar. This is nothing but strong-arm tactics. Accepting these dictates would have been suicidal for PU. When the latter did not concede the demand of MCC, the extermination campaign was inaugurated by MCC in '97. Another accusation levelled against us by MCC is that we had given a "call to other M-L party cadres to rebel against their leadership breaking away from their Party to join PW." We appeal to the MCC to read the merger statement once again as well as the articles in

People's War (January-June 1999) after the merger of PU and PW pointed out that the task of unification of communist revolutionaries will continue and that "serious attempts will be made by the newly-unified CPI (ML) [PW] to achieve unity with other CR groups like the MCC."

While such has been the stand of PW towards other genuine revolutionary organisations it had called upon the cadres of the ML parties that are pursuing a right or left opportunist line to rebel against their leadership and to rally around the PW. Why is the MCC objecting to this? Does it want the cadres of those ML parties pursuing an opportunist line to remain in those very organisations?

It is true that the MCC showed concern when three CC members of PW were murdered by the Indian state in December '99. It issued a statement describing their martyrdom as not only a loss to PW but also to Indian revolution as a whole. But what MCC did not mention in their statement in Frontier is the slander campaign that it had unleashed against PW through their columns of their Bengali organ Mukthigami. While a minor part of their writing was concerned with hailing the three martyrs and condemning the state, the major portion indulged in attacking PW's line. They used the martyrs for their narrow politicking. It is a great tragedy that it should have used the occassion of the martyrdom of Shayam, Mahesh and Murali to vent its anger against PW and confuse the people about PW's line.

We once again appeal to MCC to put an end to its murderous attacks on our cadres, to sincerely stick to its open declaration instead of using it as a diplomatic ploy and political trick, and come forward for resolving the problem through it bilateral talks.

The need to wage war unitedly against feudalism, imperialism and comprador bureaucrat capitalism is all the more pressing task before the revolutionaries today. Let both sides forget the past and prepare our cadres to fight the reactionaries unitedly. We assure you once again that we will not attack unless we are attacked. Clashes thus will end automatically if you adhere sincerely to your open declaration of January, 2000.

[ Issued by the Central

Committee (provisional) CPI (ML) People’s War ]