Inaugural Address of Com.Prakash Karat at 21st Congress of CPI(M)

               “I specially thank the leaders of the five Left parties who are present here on the dias for accepting our invitation to attend this session. Your presence here is testimony to the growing resolve of the Left forces in the country to unite and work and to struggle together.
           I greet the working class and the working people of Visakhapatnam district who have made such a big contribution to the hosting of this Party Congress. We are holding the Congress in Andhra Pradesh which has the glorious legacy of the historic Telangana armed struggle of the peasantry. On this occasion, we pay our respectful tribute to the leaders of this struggle and the builders of the Communist movement in the united Andhra Pradesh, P.Sundarayya, M.Basavapunniah, C.Rajeswara Rao and other pioneering leaders.   
           For the last nearly one year, we have witnessed the unfolding of the right wing offensive in the country which spans the economic, political, social and cultural spheres. What are the underpinnings of this rightwing thrust?
            Firstly, we have a political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, in power at the Centre which is but a political extension of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh. Thus, the Modi government is a joint enterprise of the RSS and the BJP with the parent partner holding the majority stake in this joint venture...

            Secondly, the BJP won the Lok Sabha elections and the Modi government was propelled into office by the twin forces of big bourgeois corporate support and the exertions of the RSS-led Hindutva forces...
            Thirdly, the Modi government has opened the way for the Hindutva forces to advance their communal agenda...
            Finally, the rightwing agenda is reflected in the foreign policy with the Modi government actively seeking to ally with US imperialism....
           Today is the birth anniversary of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, the architect of the Indian Constitution and the beginning of the observance of his 125th birth anniversary. What the BJP and the RSS are set to do is demolish the secular democratic foundations of the Indian Constitution. Nathuram Godse, the assassin of Gandhiji, is being glorified by the leaders of the BJP-RSS combine. The repeated use of ordinances, the intolerance shown to the secular and democratic intelligentsia and cultural artists are all portents of an authoritarian type of regime.
            Our Party Congress will focus on the central theme of how to counter the right wing offensive; to organise struggles and sustained movements of the working class, peasantry, agricultural workers and other oppressed sections of the people; to develop local struggles on sustained basis and link them to the overall struggle against the neo-liberal policies. The Party will actively take up social issues and fight for the rights of the women, adivasis, dalits and the minorities. The CPI(M) will work for the broadest mobilization of the secular and democratic forces against the communal danger.

              I greet the people, mainly the adivasis, who are struggling against their displacement from their lands and habitat by the Polavaram project. More than two lakh people will be affected. Both our Party committees in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are firmly with the tribal people in this struggle.

              The CPI(M) extends its full support and solidarity with Cuba. The United States have been compelled to establish diplomatic relations with Cuba which is an important breakthrough. However, the US has not lifted the economic blockade against Cuba which has been in force for the last five decades. We demand an immediate end to this illegal embargo.

           At the present juncture, it is absolutely vital to build and expand the independent strength of the CPI(M) and the Left. We have to overcome the reverses suffered by the CPI(M) and the Left in the recent period particularly in West Bengal. From this forum of the Party Congress, I greet the tens of thousands of our Party and Left cadres and supporters who are courageously facing the Trinamool Congress terror tactics and defending the movement...We have paid homage to the 99 martyrs who laid down their lives in West Bengal since our last Party Congress. Their sacrifices will not go in vain. We shall overcome and we shall prevail with the support of the people.

           In the context of the right wing offensive, it is imperative that we widen and strengthen Left unity. All the Left parties, groups and individuals should be brought together on a broad Left platform. We should take steps to establish coordination between the Left-led mass organizations. It is by forging strong Left unity that we can rally all other democratic forces and go forward towards building a Left and democratic alliance.

<<< 50th Anniversary of CPI (M) >>>

 Written By Com.Prakash Karat, General Secretary, CPI(M)        

            The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is observing the 50th anniversary of its formation. The Party that was born at the Seventh Congress held in Kolkata (from October 31 to November 7, 1964) has advanced facing many trials and tribulations. On this occasion, we remember and pay homage to the thousands of comrades who became martyrs for the cause of the Party and the movement.
            The formation of the CPI(M) marked an important and crucial stage in the Communist movement in India. The Party was founded in October 1920 in Tashkent by a group of Indian Communist émigrés and was recognised as such by the Communist International. In subsequent years small Communist groups emerged in different parts of the country in the 1920s. The Communist Party of India began to work as an organised all India Party in 1934 after the Meerut case prisoners were released from jail.
           The formation of the CPI(M) was the result of a prolonged inner Party struggle about the strategy to be pursued after independence for the Indian revolution. This struggle took place for a full decade within the united party and that is the reason why no programme could be adopted.
           When the split took place in 1964, after 32 members of the National Council walked out of the meeting in April, it was widely perceived as a split on the lines of the Soviet-China division. The then Congress government also labeled the CPI(M) as “pro-Peking” rebels. The confusion arose partly from the fact that in the mid-1960s and in the later part of the sixties, a number of groups split away from the existing communist parties in many countries at the call of the Communist Party of China. Most of these parties remained splinters of the parent party and did not acquire any significant political influence or mass base.
              But things were different in India. The division in the CPI coincided with the growing divide between the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of China. But this was not the cause for the split in the Indian party. The formation of the CPI(M) was the culmination of a prolonged struggle within the Party which centered on the programmatic strategy to be followed by the Party which pertained to basic questions such as the character of the Indian State, the nature of the ruling classes and so on.
 

I                            

          Thus, the formation of the CPI(M) was marked by the adoption of a programme at the 7th Congress in October-November 1964.
            The Party programme adopted at the 7th Congress set out for the first time the strategic task of the Indian revolution based on a Marxist-Leninist analysis of Indian society and the classes obtaining there. The programme spelt out the character of the Indian State in clear terms as the State run by a bourgeois-landlord alliance led by the big bourgeoisie, thereby dispelling the fog of confusion which had prevailed over this crucial feature so vital for working out a current strategy.
              The stage of the revolution, the character of the State and the class alliance required for the People’s Democratic Revolution were set out in the programme which has stood the test of time and practice. This programme was updated in 2001 but the essential strategic features referred above remains valid. It is this programme which has guided the political, organisational and ideological activities of the Party in the past five decades.
It is based on this Programme that the CPI(M) has grown to be the leading Left party in the country. The Party has more than one million members and these members are working in mass organisations whose combined membership numbers 70 million (7 crore).
 

II                          

         The CPI(M) had formulated its ideological positions soon after the formation of the Party. In the early 1960s there was a serious ideological debate and conflicts in the international communist movement. The questions about the content of the new epoch, the major social contradictions, the peaceful coexistence between the two social systems and the peaceful transition to socialism had all led to sharp differences and polemics with the CPSU and the CPC in opposing camps. Practically the entire CPI(M) leadership had been put in jail soon after the 7th Congress and therefore the Party’s stand on various ideological issues could not be formulated till 1968. This contributed to the wrong perception in some quarters that the CPI(M) was following the positions taken by the Chinese party. The delay in clarifying the ideological positions of the Party caused some damage when the Left sectarian trends emanated within the communist movement in the country.
         The CPI(M) after a thorough inner Party discussion adopted its ideological stand at the Burdwan Plenum held in 1968. This plenum marked a historical break with both right revisionism and Left sectarianism within the Indian Communist movement and also in the international communist movement. The CPI(M) displayed a robust independence in being critical of many of the theoretical positions of the CPSU and the CPC.
          This in fact brings out the distinctive character of the CPI(M). When the united CPI was a fledgling party it was dependent for its theory and practice on the CPSU (at times in the pre-independence period this was mediated by the Communist Party of Great Britain as instructed by the Communist International). This legacy persisted even after independence. Later, the Left sectarian trend found sustenance from the CPC in the last sixties. The CPI(M) broke with this “dependence”. The formulation of the programme, the tactical perspective which flowed from it and the ideological positions which were adopted marked a dialectical break from the past practice. The basis for this radical departure was the determined effort to apply Marxism-Leninism to the concrete Indian conditions. This meant not relying on borrowed wisdom and a mechanical copying of the models followed in other countries especially the ones which had made revolutions.
            The collapse of the Soviet Union had a delete

rious effect on the communist parties and the socialist cause all over the world. Its impact was felt in India too upon the communist movement. However, the CPI(M) as a party was the least affected in political-ideological terms or as an organisation in contrast to some other communist parties around the world. This was because the Party had an independent understanding of Marxism. It had adopted a critical approach to the ideology and practice of the CPSU without ever taking an anti-Soviet position. Since the Party had no blind faith in the Soviet Union and the CPSU, it was better equipped to face the debacle of the Soviet Union. The CPI(M) suffered lesser damage as a result. Being deeply rooted among the Indian working people and the Marxist-Leninist ideology, the Party could draw sustenance from its own theory and practice to reappraise the experience of building socialism in the 20th century and to renew its confidence to work for a renovated socialism in the 21st century. In fact the decade consequent to 1991 saw a steady increase in the Party membership.

III                        

            The CPI(M) programme states that the agrarian revolution is the crux of the democratic revolution. Hence the agrarian question and the land issue have been central to the practice of the Party.
          The CPI(M) is a Party which has done the most to advance the struggle for land since its inception. It is these struggles against landlordism, for take over of benami land, for distribution of ceiling surplus land, pattas for house sites for agricultural workers and so on which resulted in the Left-led governments of West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura being the only states which have implemented land reforms in a meaningful manner. Reforms which have led to the distribution of surplus land, ending of rack rented tenancy or ensuring security of tenure for sharecroppers.
         The 1960s and 1970s in particular witnessed a wave of struggles on these issues. Both the United Front governments in West Bengal and Kerala in 1967 to 1970 period in which the CPI(M) was the leading force, made determined advance on the land issue which was backed by powerful struggles.
         As a Party of the working class, the CPI(M) has consistently sought to strengthen the working class movement and organise the workers as a political force capable of leading the democratic movement. The Party has been actively taking up the fight against privatization, against contractualisation of labour and in defence of trade union rights.
The CPI(M) views class exploitation and social oppression as twin pillars of the present bourgeois-landlord order. The Party has, therefore, been ceaselessly fighting all forms of social oppression – of women, dalits, adivasis and minorities.

IV                  

            The CPI(M) has the basic understanding that democracy and democratic rights and even the limited rights provided by the Constitution are not secure as the ruling classes of the country tend to encroach and attack democracy whenever its interests dictate so. The CPI(M) was the first Party to warn against the impending danger of one party authoritarianism in its ninth Congress in 1972. It said this on the basis of the experience of the semi-fascist terror instituted in West Bengal from 1971 onwards, which was backed by the Indira Gandhi government and the State machinery. The CPI(M) was active in the fight to protect democracy and democratic rights in the period leading up to the declaration of internal emergency in June 1975. The Party struggled against the emergency regime. Hundreds of its leaders and cadres were put in prison during this time but the Party joined with other democratic forces to oppose the onslaught on democracy. That is why with the lifting of the Emergency, the Party emerged with heightened prestige. It was in the background of the fight against semi-fascist terror and the Emergency at the all India level that the CPI(M) and the Left Front won the West Bengal assembly elections in 1977 for the first time with a two-third majority.

        The attacks on democracy and democratic rights have often been concentrated against the CPI(M) and the Left. After the semi-fascist terror in West Bengal, there was a period of terror in Tripura between 1988 and 1993. West Bengal has again been facing widespread terror and trampling of democratic rights since 2011. Hundreds of comrades have laid down their lives defending democratic rights and the Red Flag.

V                        

          The Communist movement in India has the rich experience in working in the parliamentary democratic system. The CPI(M) has made, on its part, the most significant contribution in this sphere. After its formation the Party formulated a creative approach on how to work in parliamentary forums and on participation in state governments. The tactical direction for this was given in the programme itself. It also drew on the experience of the first communist ministry in Kerala in 1957. The CPI(M) would join state governments only where the Left and democratic forces were a strong force in the legislature. It looked at participation in state governments as an aid to develop the mass struggles and the democratic movement while providing all relief possible to the people within the bourgeois-landlord system. The CPI(M) sought to put this into practice when the United Front governments were formed in 1967-70 in West Bengal and Kerala.
         The formation and running of CPI(M)-led Left government in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura from 1977 onwards were an important part of the task of developing the Left and democratic movement in the struggle to project alternative policies (within the limitation of the state government) against the bourgeois-landlord policies.
           The achievements in the sphere of land reform, decentralisation of powers, strengthening the rights of the working people for collective action and the defence of secularism by these governments have contributed to the advancement of the Left and democratic agenda.
 

VI                

            The concomitant political platform championed by the CPI(M) has been federalism. As per the Party’s understanding of the national question, India is a multinational country. The unity of the Indian Union can be strengthened only by a federal structure which allows the various linguistic nationalities to be able to have their due share in the economic and social development. There has to be a federal political structure.
            The CPI(M) has been a consistent force for federalism and for the unity of the people by combating the forces of regional, linguistic and ethnic chauvinism. When the divisive forces were active in the 1980s in various parts of the country, the CPI(M) stood firm on the question of national unity and hundreds of comrades laid down their lives in Punjab, Assam, Tripura and Jammu & Kashmir fighting these forces. The Party has played a key role on the issue of restructuring of Centre-state relations and this has been articulated by the Left-led state governments. The Party played an important role in the formulation of a common stand on Centre-State relations as seen in the deliberations of the Srinagar conclave of 15 parties in 1983.

VII                       

          The CPI(M) has been the most consistent and resolute force against communalism. Historically, religious communalism as a weapon was used to divide the people during the days of the fight against British rule. The Communists have a glorious record of standing firm in the face of communal frenzy in the days of partition. Communists, however small in number, stood against the violence and rescued those targeted by the mobs. Later in independent India whenever communal riots broke out communists have sought to protect those facing violence. It is in that tradition that in Kerala a CPI(M) leader, U.K. Kunhiraman, died while protecting a mosque which came under attack in Thalassery during the communal violence of 1968. The CPI(M) adheres firmly to the principle of secularism which means separation of religion and the State and politics. Unlike the bourgeois parties which seek to appease the various forces of majority and minority communalism, the CPI(M) is completely opposed to any intervention in politics by the communal forces.
When the threat of majority communalism arose in the late 1980s, it was the CPI(M) which pointed out that the BJP-RSS combine represented this threat. The party has worked relentlessly to combat the Hindutva forces and to isolate them politically. The Party views the ascendance of the BJP and its coming to power as integral to the interests of the big bourgeoisie and the corporates who view the BJP as a party committed to advance the neo-liberal agenda. That is why the CPI(M) views the struggle against the neo-liberal policies and the fight against majority communalism as interconnected. In the entire political spectrum only the CPI(M) and the Left parties are the force who have never compromised with the BJP and the communal forces either for electoral or political gains.

VIII                    

            The CPI(M) in the last five decades has been a significant force in political terms in projecting an alternative path of development for India – one which is socially and economically just and politically democratic. On all the major issues which have arisen in the Indian polity – secularism, democracy, federalism, equity and justice – the CPI(M) has made its own distinctive contribution.
          The CPI(M) and the Left have suffered serious electoral reverses in the recent election. The rightwing offensive has resulted in a BJP government which represents the twin forces of corporate power and Hindutva. The fight for secular democracy, the rights of the working people and alternative policies requires a strong CPI(M) and Left. The Party is taking up this challenge in right earnest. In the run up to the 21st Congress of the Party to be held in April 2015, the Central Committee is formulating a fresh political-tactical line which can effectively deal with the new political situation. It is undertaking concrete studies of the changes that have occurred in Indian society and classes in the more than two decades of neo-liberal capitalism. The Party Congress will provide a new direction for the organisation and its work among the people.
          India is witnessing a more predatory capitalist process unfold through the neo-liberal model adopted by our ruling classes. Economic and political inequalities have arisen sharply. Along with some of the world’s riches persons, India has the largest number of poor people. The fight for an alternative path leading to socialism is an ongoing and arduous struggle.

       As the CPI(M) marks its 50th year of existence we rededicate ourselves to pursue the goal with confidence and determination.
News source courtesy & - See more at: http://ganashakti.com/english/comments/details/142#sthash.m6BqUY24.dpuf

People vow to create their Alternative at Delhi - A tidal Red wave at Brigade...!

        
                 People, in unending protest lines, in lakhs, came in from all over the state; women, the elderly, children, youth, students, teachers, intellectuals, farmers & workers. The spirit was revolutionary, the ambient sound, mythical. A roar a minute, from every common man, registering his protest against the misrule of the 30 month Trinamool government! The thunder of the collective roar would have surely reached the CM’s ears when CPI (M) General Secretary, Prakash Karat said that the only alternative for a people’s government at the center was the Left led coalition. The collective roar seemed to better itself when former Chief Minister & CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya thundered that while Mamata Banerjee is able to avoid answering to the Bengal Assembly, she will have to answer to the people.

                 The entire Left Front with its state & national leaders were in full attendance on the stage & speaker after speaker was greeted with thunderous applause from the assembled multitude. The martyrs were remembered, saluted! The galaxy of speakers were led by Prakash Karat, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Biman Bose, Surjyakanta Mishra of the CPI (M), Ashok Ghosh & Hafiz Alam Sairani of the Forward Bloc, Kshiti Goswami of the RSP, Manjukumar Majumdar of the CPI, Ratan Mazumdar of DSP, Janmejaya Ojha of the SP, Mihir Bain of the RCPI, Pratim Chatterjee of the MFB, Umesh Choudhury of BBC, Shivnath Sinha of the Workers party, Samar Bardhan of the Bolshevik party. Every speaker castigated the Mamata Banerjee led Trinamool government for its attack on democracy, its encouragement of unprecedented atrocities on women, its inaction on the growing inflation & the growing totalitarian nature of its government.  Forward Bloc & RSP leadership flays both their errant MLAs & the conduct of the Trinamool party in the unprecedented horse trading in the just concluded Rajya Sabha polls.

                Left Front Chairman & CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, Biman Bose reminded the audience of the promises made by the TMC before the 2009 LS polls & 2011 Assembly polls. The promises of employment, industry, schemes for farmers, universities, even airports across the state, et al remained empty. He reminded the audience that while her promise before the polls was to do away with contractual employment, she had only created a handful of contractual jobs which pay less than the minimum wage. All that the CM was interested in was hosting ‘festivals’ at the cost of keeping crores of stomachs hungry. The government & the ruling party were encouraging the growth of anarchy & divisive forces. It was trying to break the unity of the poor & toiling masses, every dissenting voice muffled. He urged the people of Bengal to recognise the true face of this ‘dishonest’ political force, which has taken 145 lives of left workers & leaders so far. She had allowed her ‘naughty’ boys to attack women with gay abandon, with the most heinous cases of rape & murder becoming common place. It was a shame for all Bengalis that the most modern, cultured & safe society of Bengal leads the country today, in atrocities against women.

               Prakash Karat termed the rally a historic one, both in terms of sheer numbers & for overcoming the Trinamool terror. He blasted the UPA-2 government which came to power in 2009 with Mamata Banerjee’s help as one which has only multiplied the woes of the common man; rampaging inflation, growing unemployment, massive corruption. The BJP, which was trying to position itself as an alternative, had the same economic policies. Modi’s Gujarat model, he said, is but a euphemism for large scale ‘loot’ by big corporations, Indian & MNC. He stands for ensuring supernormal profits for these companies & will complete the full measure of neo-liberal economic policy. That apart, Karat reminded the people of BJP’s divisive agenda & Modi’s role in the 2002 genocide. The party is therefore working towards creating a non-Cong & non-BJP alternative that will govern the country on an ‘alternative policy’ trajectory. He informed the people of Bengal of the initiative taken by the CPI (M) & the left parties to bring together all secular & democratic parties to fight the scourge of communalism; a 14 party convention was successfully held in Delhi. He announced that all parties will meet soon & announce the ‘Third Alternative’ before the Lok Sabha elections.

              The Leader of the Opposition & CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, Surjyakanta Mishra electrified the audience with his appeal to the CM to use her ‘eyes & ears’ to listen to the protests of the people of Bengal. He castigated her for the complete lack of democracy in her party, her voice being the only one, as was evident in the TMC rally on the 30^th of Dec. As he delivered the Charge sheet, one after the other, the massive crowd roared its approval. He dubbed the government, 1) Totalitarian, 2) Anti-people, 3) Anti-development & 4) Corrupt. He exposed the massive growth of per capita debt of Bengal after this party came to power. 55,000 crs had been added in just 30 months, more than 1/4^th of the total debt the state had after almost 60 yrs of rule since independence. Bengal had gone from being the 13^th in per capita debt to being the no.1 in the country. He charged that the CM had bankrupted the state by her ad hoc expenses, most of it in festivals across the state, throughout the year. The new administrative calendar was more of a festival itinerary, having planned 60 in the coming year, one a week. He thundered that the people will no longer allow her to loot the votes like she had done during the Panchayat & Municipal polls, they will fight back. Mishra ended his speech with a reference to a legendary piece of dialogue from Satyajit Ray’s iconic ‘Hirak Rajar Deshe’. Replacing the Raja with a ‘Rani’, he asked the people to do what the revolutionary school teacher had asked the people fighting the evil tyrant, ‘Dori dhore maaro taan, Raja hobe khaan khaan’, i.e., ‘ Give the rope a strong tug, the King will bite the dust’!

                            Former CM & CPI (M) Polit Bureau member, Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, ended the meeting with a brief detailing of the policy alternative; industry & jobs, arresting the fuel price hike & inflation, Land to the rural poor, no selling of banks, insurance companies or natural resources. Every policy commitment was seconded by the people by a thundering roar. When he thanked the audience & the people of Bengal for ensuring a record turnout, the applause lasted minutes. He said that the Mamata government was insulting the youth of the state, not only increasing unemployment by closing down industry, but being dishonest in advertising creation of new jobs, a trickle actually; like the contractual policemen, which paid less than minimum wage or exhorting them to work for fraudulent companies such as Sharada, etc.  He accused her of playing with the lives of the Bengali people. He said all work, be it industry or agricultural had come to a standstill. He termed the government as shameless; to be wasting people’s money for promoting her own face in government sponsored advertisements at an unprecedented scale, every possible media vehicle, every day. He blasted the CM again for having a tacit understanding with the communal BJP & exposed Modi’s governance claims. He reminded the people that Gujarat, unlike Bengal had no Land Reforms, no people’s representation at the grass-roots. It was backward in both primary & secondary education. He said that the people of Bengal know that it will repent the ‘Two Laddoos of Modi-Mamata coalition’ that BJP PM hopeful offered, i.e. ‘Modi at the Center & Mamata at the state. The people of Bengal, he said , knew that the left front stood for all round development of the working masses & will vote for a non-Cong, Non-BJP ‘Third Alternative’ at the center.

             Earlier, in the day, one saw scores of people march towards the Brigade grounds from all corners of the city. A common slogan was that the ‘Mamata Government was no longer required in the state’. Echoing the sentiment, Biman Bose ended his speech urging the people of Bengal to turn out a win for the Left Front in each of the 42 seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections. That would be a record. But then, this political season has been one of breaking records, the turnout at this Brigade Rally of the Left Front surpassing all previous benchmarks & expectations!

                  As Buddhadeb Bhattacharya said, ‘the voices of the toiling masses of Bengal cannot be stopped; the Red Flag can never be forced to surrender’!

"A Glorious Life and Example" - a tribute to Com. Jyoti Basu...!

 Com. Prakash Karat         
 General Secretary, CPI(M)          

          THE birth centenary of an outstanding Communist leader like Jyoti Basu should be an occasion to make an appraisal of the significant contributions made through the life and work of the leader and to draw up a balance sheet of the lessons and achievements of his political career. It must then be used to educate the new generation of Communists and progressives, so that it helps them in their ongoing endeavour for a social transformation.
           Jyoti Basu became a legend as a Communist leader in his life time. No other leader of the Communist movement was known and respected by the people all over the country as much as Jyoti Basu. How did this come about?
             Jyoti Basu’s name was synonymous with all the major currents of Left politics and the basic class movements. Throughout his life as a Communist, he was associated with the working class movement. After he came back from Britain, he joined the Communist Party and straight away began work in the railway workers trade union. Till his last years, he remained a leader of the CITU.
           He became a symbol of the peasant movement when he utilised the United Front government of 1967-70 to unleash the land struggles and when he, as chief minister of the Left Front government, undertook the extreme land reform measures. So his political activity involved both the worker and peasant movements.
                One of the distinctive contributions of Jyoti Basu was the way he integrated work in the legislature with the people's movements and workers struggles outside. Jyoti Basu was elected to the Bengal legislature from a railway constituency in 1946 before independence. From then onwards, for more than five decades, he effectively utilised his presence in the legislature for developing and strengthening the Party's influence and movements outside. When the Tebhaga movement of the peasantry began in 1947, Jyoti Basu extensively toured the districts where the movement was taking place for a first hand report and raised the issue effectively in the assembly.
            In 1953, he became the secretary of the Provincial Committee of the CPI and continued in this post till 1961. During these eight years, big movements took place such as the food movement of 1959 in which 80 people were killed in police firing and lathicharges. Jyoti Basu, as secretary of the Party, was in the forefront of this movement while relentlessly raising the demands of the people on food inside the assembly.
              Earlier, when the school teachers' strike took place in February 1954, many leaders of the school teachers association and the Party were arrested. There was a warrant for the arrest of Jyoti Basu and the police kept a vigil outside the assembly on the opening day of the session to arrest him. Jyoti Basu managed to enter the assembly and stayed for around a week inside the premises where the police could not enter. He was able to raise the issue of the teachers strike inside the assembly and came out to attend the teachers rally and got arrested. Here was a striking example of how Jyoti Basu, as a legislator, utilised the assembly to champion the cause of the working people.
         Jyoti Basu was a man of great personal courage. In July 1969, when he was the home minister, a mob of policeman invaded the assembly building, having been instigated to do so after a policeman was killed in a clash. They smashed up furniture inside the assembly and entered Jyoti Basu's room. Jyoti Basu calmly faced the rampaging policemen and firmly told them to stop such behaviour. Taken aback by his composure, the policemen quietly left his room.
             It was Jyoti Basu who showed how Communist participation in the state government should be utilised to strengthen the democratic movement. During the two stints of the United Front government between 1967-1970, as the home minister, he did not allow the police to intervene in the struggles of the workers and the peasants. During the land struggle which swept West Bengal, Jyoti Basu declared that the government would not obstruct the peasants who were identifying the benami lands and taking them over. It is this experience which helped the CPI(M) to formulate its approach and tactics while working in the state governments.
           The biggest contribution of Jyoti Basu came with the formation of the Left Front government in 1977, of which he became the chief minister. The remarkable record of the Left Front government for over three decades owes a lot to Jyoti Basu's leadership of the government for an unbroken 23 years. It was under his stewardship that the road map for land reforms was chalked out and implemented. These path-breaking reforms led to 1.1 million acres of land being distributed to 2.5 million landless and marginal farmers and 1.53 million bargadars (sharecroppers) being registered and provided security of tenure.
          Side by side with the land reforms, the three-tier panchayat system revitalised by decentralisation of powers was instituted. Much before the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments, West Bengal showed the way in democratising the panchayat system.
           An achievement which is taken for granted today is the establishment of a secular atmosphere in the state. Bengal, before independence, witnessed the rise of communal politics and partition saw large-scale communal violence. But the advance of the Left movement and the establishment of the Left Front government laid the basis for a major transformation. Jyoti Basu symbolised the firm adherence to secularism not only in West Bengal but the entire country. All minorities felt protected and lived free from communal attacks. The whole country praised the firm stand of Jyoti Basu which prevented any attack on the Sikh minority in West Bengal after the assassination of Indira Gandhi.
          Semi-fascist terror was unleashed in West Bengal during the 1970s. More than 1200 comrades were killed during this period and thousands were forced to leave their homes. Repression by the class enemies have to be faced by the Communist movement at various times. How successfully such repression and violence is faced determines the future of the movement. Under the leadership of Jyoti Basu and Promode Dasgupta, the Party withstood this severe attack and did not get isolated from the people. Today, when the Party and the Left Front is again facing severe attacks in West Bengal, the example of Jyoti Basu’s mature leadership at such a juncture should be a guiding light.
           For seven decades, Jyoti Basu as a Communist saw various ups and downs in the international Communist movement. But his commitment to Marxism never wavered. Till the end he believed that socialism is the only alternative for humanity.
          In the practice and development of the Communist movement in India, Jyoti Basu played a key role in many aspects. On how Communists should work in legislatures; in implementing land reforms; in decentralising power through the panchayati raj system; in defending secularism and democracy. Few leaders in independent India can claim to have contributed to defending the rights of the working people, deepening democracy and strengthening the secular principle as much as Jyoti Basu has done.
           The year long birth centenary celebrations should commemorate this glorious life and work.

courtesy :    

People's Democracy

Left Parties will strive for non-Congress secular govt at Centre: Prakash Karat

    

CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat during a "victory rally", after the Tripura Assembly polls, in Agartala recently

CPI (M) general secretary Prakash Karat during the party's 'Sangharsh Sandesh Rally' at Ramlila Grounds in New Delhi.

     Brushing aside Congress’ overtures, Communist Party of India (Marxist) says it will work for the defeat of UPA as well as NDA in next Lok Sabha elections while looking to stitch a national alternative with regional parties.

        Notwithstanding Narendra Modi’s rising stature in the BJP, the major Left party has made it clear that it cannot support a secular Congress-led government which follows “neo-liberal policies”.

          “The prospects are bright for a non-Congress secular government and we will play our role to bring about such a government, if such a situation arises,” CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat told PTI in an interview.

           65-year old Karat, who steered the Left campaign against UPA-I’s nuclear deal with the United States and withdrawal of support on the issue, claimed as “bleak”, the chances of UPA coming back to office for a third term.

          “Both Congress and BJP may not be in a position to form the government,” he said.

         Mr. Karat was not impressed by Congress leader A K Antony’s recent comments that the Left was “not untouchable”, indicating it could do business with CPI(M) and other Left parties.

"UPA policies unacceptable"

              “As far as we are concerned, the policies being pursued by the UPA government are unacceptable. That is why we have called for the defeat of Congress and UPA,” Mr. Karat said.

        Asked about BJD chief Naveen Patnaik’s comment that a Third Front was a “very healthy option”, he said Patnaik has “expressed the need for an alternative which is necessary.”

      “As far as CPI (M) and the Left are concerned, we are looking for an alternative based on alternative policies.

        Without an alternative policy platform, a Third Front is not feasible,” the CPI (M) leader said. He made it clear that the CPI (M) would fight the elections “together with Left parties. We may have some electoral understanding with some regional parties in states”.

 

On Modi factor..

 

         Asked whether secular forces would strive to ensure a secular government to counter Mr. Modi’s projection by the BJP, he said, “If BJP projects Narendra Modi as their prime ministerial candidate, the message will go to the people that it will pursue a Hindutva agenda along with adherence to a pro-big business agenda. I am sure the people will not accept such a projection.”

          “While we will do everything to counter the communal forces, at the same time we would also like a government which does not follow neo-liberal policies.

         “We cannot support a secular government which follows neo-liberal policies which are anti-people and against the interests of the country,” Mr. Karat said.

             Asked whether the Left would fight corruption or communalism in the next polls, Mr. Karat said, “We will be going into the elections to fight both BJP and Congress as corruption is the outcome of the neo-liberal policies pursued by both of them.”

          Mr. Karat gave indications that the Opposition would be launching a fierce attack on the government on the issue of alleged interference in the preparation of the CBI report to the Supreme Court on the coal mines allocation scam.

          “The government will have to answer why the Law Minister tried to influence the CBI investigation in the coal blocks allocation case,” he said.

           Mr. Karat also said that the Left parties would want the adoption of the Lokpal Bill in the ongoing budget session of Parliament.

          “We will strongly oppose any efforts to open up the insurance sector to more foreign capital,” he said, adding that on the Land Acquisition Bill, “we have some basic objections” and demand that the measure be referred back to the Standing Committee or a Joint Select Committee.

courtesy :

Huge Rally at Ramlila Grounds Calls for Mass Struggle for Alternative Policies....!

         CPI(M) calls for wide spread movement to establish the six fundamental demands raised for the people. In a massive rally on 19th March at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi it announced a programme of Dharna or sit in demonstration with civil disobedience in the districts, blocks offices across the country from 15th to 31st May keeping the demands in forefront of land, food security, employment, Right to education and health, equal rights for women. The movements are to be launched from people’s gathering. If necessary one will court arrest also, announced CPI(M) General Secretary Prakash Karat. 

          This is but the initiation of a bigger struggle for implementation of alternative policies aimed at the betterment of the people. The thousands and thousands of people gathered in the heart of the capital resolved to launch a non-stop united struggle with other Left Parties across the country. The rally marked the convergence of four Jathas from across the four corners of the Country that traversed about 10,000km distance. The top leadership of the CPI(M) led these Jathas from various parts of the country. It started on 24th February from Kanyakumari with the Southern Jatha. In between 14th to 16th March the four Jathas reached New Delhi. After this was this gathering. The motive behind this Sangharsh Sandesh Jatha was to explain in front of the people about the necessity of struggle to establish the alternative policies. To carry the message of struggle to the masses. As CPI(M) Polit Bureau member said in this rally that people want struggle. People want to be a part of the struggle. At the call of the CPI(M) people had gathered in the heart of the capital as a part of the struggle and had left with the news of struggle.
In the gathering, the President of the meeting Prakash Karat in his commencing speech at the very onset made it clear about the very purpose of the meeting by saying when others are thinking about the forth coming election, this meeting is not for vote but for struggle. At the beginning of his speech he said in this gathering the bidi workers of solapur, the land labourers of Bihar-Uttar Pradesh are there and the toiling masses are there. This is the real India.
           Prakash Karat said gradually the state of the toiling masses is worsening. The land of the farmers are being taken away, there is no food security, lakhs and lakhs of youth remain unemployed, there is no scope for education and health for all, atrocities on women is increasing. The central policies are for the multimillionaires; it is being framed for the benefit of the richest. All the assets of the country from land-factories-mines are being handed over to the multimillionaires. Due to the policies of the Government, prices of commodities are rising. In this year’s Central Budget there has been curtailment on subsidies on things, which are of use to the common people. Subsidies on petroleum product have been curtailed. After decontrol, the price of petrol has risen 21 times. The price of diesel is now going to rise every month. The farmers of this country are in trouble but Government subsidy is being curtailed. From 1999 onwards 2lakhs 90thousand farmers have committed suicide. The Government is unperturbed. Now by allowing 100 percent foreign investment in retail business, the livelihood of four crores of retail businessmen is going to be endangered.
           He said unless the UPA Government can be removed from its seat, the condition of the people will not change. What is the alternative? The BJP is walking in their path of same liberalization policies, pampering the national and international capital. On the other hand they are competing with Congress in corruption. In recent times The BJP Chief Minister of Karnataka has been jailed for illegal mining corruption. BJP’s Narendra Modi’s Gujrat model is being talked about but what actually is this model that the multimillionaires know very well. They are being given land for no cost, electricity with no surcharge, tax benefit. So that they can ensure more profit. Gujrat is lagging behind in education-health. Gujrat is in the forefront in child malnutrition. The minorities have been awarded a second-class citizen status. This model will cause the downfall of the country.
          Karat said that the only option against these policies of liberalization is to fight for the cause of the alternative policy. Through the mass struggle of poor, labours, farmers, youth, women, tribals a strong alternative policy has to be framed. The non-congress, non-BJP parties have to think whether the condition of the poor people can improve without an alternative policy. They should come forward but whether they come or not CPI(M) along with other Left Parties will continue with the fight for an alternative policy.
            CPI(M) Polit Bureau members, Sitaram Yechury, Biman Bose, Brinda Karat, Manik Sarkar also addressed the gathering.
          The huge gathering of poor people under the banner of the red flag in the heart of the capital will take back the message of struggle to all the parts of the country. In the coming days the struggle of the poor for the alternative policies will spread to the nook and corner of the country. That is the message of the huge rally at Ramlila Grounds, New Delhi.