CPI(M) brands Iskcon major threat to Communists

The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has lived up to its image of a true iconoclast. After questioning the existence of Lord Ram, the party has now trained its guns on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (Iskcon), describing it as a "major threat" to Communists.

A document published on the occasion of CPI(M)'s district conference in Nadia in West Bengal describes the international religious body that worships the flute-playing god Krishna as also an "agent of the Congress, Trinamul Congress and the BJP".

"Iskcon is helping communal forces like the Rashtriyaswayam Sevak Sangh (RSS) and the BJP," the document said.

The party has also accused the Congress of "hobnobbing" with the religious group headquartered in the state in Nabadwip, around 100 km from Kolkata.

"Ram was born in the imagination of poets and Ram Setu is a natural formation under the sea," Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had said at a meeting to mark the 15th anniversary of the demolition of the Babri Masjid here Thursday, sparking protests by the BJP.

"Organisations like the RSS and some NGOs are fanning communal passions in Nadia. We have compiled information on Iskcon on the basis of reports from our local leaders and sent it to higher authorities in the party," CPI(M) Nadia district secretary Ashu Ghosh said.

Ramesh Das, Iskcon publicity manager, rubbished the charges, saying, "We have no connection with any political party. We are involved in charitable activities and have devotees from all over the world."

He wondered why the CPI(M) was levelling charges against them when several Communist leaders like politburo member Sitaram Yechury and Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar had not only visited its temples but also stayed over.

The Nadia CPI(M) had earlier accused Iskcon of acquiring around 500 acres in Mayapur in the name of running NGOs to bypass the land ceiling law. Acting on its report, Bhattacharya had asked Land and Land Reforms Minister Abdur Rezzak Mollah to conduct a probe.

Following the probe by Mollah, the government rejected a proposal for Rs 5 billion Vedic village planned by Iskcon devotees and Henry Ford's grandson Alfred Ford in Mayapur.