CPI veteran Gurudas Dasgupta has decided to bid adieu to the electoral politics. The firebrand leader, who took on the mighty corporate barons like Mukesh Ambani, has communicated to the party that he would not contest the forthcoming lok Sabha elections.
Talking to The Pioneer on Sunday, Dasgupta (77) said that not contesting the election did not mean he was not ending his political life. “I would continue my battles for the working class of this country. I will continue my legal as well as political battle against the loot by Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance in the KG Basin,” said Dasgupta. Dasgupta who entered Rajya Sabha in 1985 was elected thrice to the Upper House and landed in lok Sabha in 2004. Experts feel Dasgupta’s decision may have been prompted by the prospect of his party’s likely washout due to the surge of Trinamool Congress in West Bengal. His constituency Ghatal has emerged as a TMC’s stronghold since 2010.
“I will shuttle between Delhi and Kolkata. In Delhi, I will stay at AITUC office….You (Journalists) are all welcome there,” said Dasgupta, who is also General Secretary of AITUC from 2001, one of the biggest trade union. The veteran CPI leader always occupied centre-stage in lok Sabha with his fiery attacks against corproates and by exposing huge tax evasions and raising the voice of the working class. In the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) on 2G scam, Dasgupta was very active in nailing the lies of the Government and telecom companies.