Apr 11, 2025 06:45 PM IST
Abdur Razzak Molla joined the communist movement when he was in college and was first elected to the legislative assembly for the first time from Canning East in 1977
KOLKATA: Abdur Razzak Molla, who served as minister in both Left Front and Trinamool Congress governments, died at his home at Bankri village in South 24 Parganas district on Friday morning. He was 80 and was suffering from age-related ailments, his family said.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee condoled the veteran leader’s death. “I am saddened and shocked by the passing of my colleague, Abdur Razzak Mollah. He was my colleague in the state cabinet. I respected and honoured him,” Banerjee said in a post on X.
The state government kept all its offices and educational institutions closed for half day on Friday to pay homage to Molla.
Molla, who took pride in his humble background and all his life referred to himself as “chasar beta” (son of a farmer), joined the communist movement when he was in college. He was elected to the legislative assembly for the first time from Canning East in 1977 when the Left Front came to power defeating Congress. He won the seat for the last time in 2011 when the 34-year-old Marxist government was ousted by Trinamool Congress.
While serving as land and land reforms minister in Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s cabinet, Molla hit the headlines when he criticised the chief minister’s 2006 decision to acquire farmland for the Tata small car factory at Singur in Hooghly district.
The outspoken Molla rarely agreed with Bhattacharjee and industry minister Nirupam Sen on crucial issues, ranging from acquisition to relaxation of land ceiling.
He had then held Bhattacharjee and Sen responsible for the growing popularity of the TMC which opposed the Singur project and compelled Tata Motors to shift the plant to Sanand in Gujarat. He voiced the same concern when Bhattacharjee’s bid to acquire land for a chemical hub at Nandigram in East Midnapore triggered a violent movement in 2007.
After TMC came to power in the state elections, Molla told a public meeting organised by the CPI (M) peasants’ front in July 2011 that the decision to acquire land at Singur led to the defeat of the Marxist government. “Acquiring land at Singur was a blunder and we paid a heavy price. The party should understand this. Land acquisition policy of the seventh Left Front government needs to be discussed at length inside the party,” he said.
Molla launched the Bharatiya Naybichar Party in 2014 after the CPI(M) expelled him on charges of anti-party activities. He eventually joined the TMC in February 2016 and won the Bhangar assembly seat and was appointed Bengal’s food processing minister. It was the last election the 10-time legislator contested.
