THE Mainstream is a magazine which has specialised in slandering the CPI(M) for a long time. Under the editorship of Sumit Chakravarthy it has now taken its anti-CPI(M) stance to new heights. In its March 18 issue the editor has written an editorial which is downright scurrilous. Writing about the dispute which arose between the CPI(M) and the CPI on the fifth Rajya Sabha seat from West Bengal, the editorial bemoans the fact that the CPI tamely surrendered to the CPI(M) on the issue. It then proceeds to make a series of blatantly false accusations against the CPI(M) leadership both in West Bengal and the Centre. Doing away with the embellishments, the arguments advanced are as follows:

1. The CPI was deprived of the Rajya Sabha seat as the CPI(M) was annoyed with the CPI line in the Bihar assembly elections. (ii) Gurudas Dasgupta, the retiring member was axed as he was targetted by the big business houses and in the conspiracy was involved the son of the Chief Minister of West Bengal. (iii) The coterie in the CPI(M) leadership both in the Polit Bureau and in the state are all part of this conspiracy. In all the three reasons cited above, the entire leadership of the Party is implicated as "petty manipulators guided by subjective prejudices and sectarian considerations".

The editor of the Mainstream is obviously unhappy that the interests of Left unity prevailed at this juncture. For it is well known that in the earlier days, the same editor had advocated unity of the CPI with the Congress, and now has developed symptoms of softness towards the BJP.