Test Case for Kamaraj

There is no respite for those who wear the crown. The end of Parliament's stormy monsoon session, the stormiest in its history, has brought no peace to the leadership of either the Government or the Congress Party. The storm has taken a new turn and its epicentre seems to have moved away from Delhi.

The familiar pattern of mass actions under Left Opposition is unfolding itself in a new dimension; and not unexpectedly the tone seems to be set by West Bengal. This time it is no sudden upheaval as in February last over food discontent, on whose crest the Left leadership could ride; instead there has come up a sustained organised movement enveloping all sections, from teachers to State Government employees, adopting a new technique of mass casual leave. Although the Home Ministry does not think that such a movement can be taken up by the Opposition in every part of the country—according to Central Intelligence's appraisal, Swatantra is incapable of any mass action and Jana Sangh's capacity is constricted by its close links with the big traders, the target of the Left Opposition campaign—the explosive potentialities of the Left movement are not in the least underplayed in the Capital: Nanda at the time of devaluation had warned against the danger of rising prices, one prediction which he could make without consulting his astrologers.