The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met on 18 August 2025 and issued the following communique.
The Polit Bureau expressed condolences on the death of more than a hundred people who died in the recent natural disasters in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.
PM’s Independence Day Speech: The Polit Bureau strongly condemned the reference to RSS in the Independence Day address of the Prime Minister. Through this, Modi is attempting to legitimise the RSS, which played no role in the Indian freedom struggle. Apart from the anti-people reforms he announced, the Prime Minister also announced the formation of a ‘Demographic Mission’, which will be used to target and harass Muslim minorities in the name of identifying infiltrators. This is intended to legitimise the RSS campaign portraying all Muslims as infiltrators who need to be pushed out of the country.
The Prime Minister also announced that the GST rates will be reduced on Diwali. The government should ensure that the benefits of this reduction reach consumers and not corporates. The Union government should compensate the states for any resultant loss of income.
SIR and ECI: From the very outset, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar was mired in controversy, as the announcement on 24 June was not preceded by consultations with political parties, contrary to established convention. Intensive revisions have invariably required long periods of preparation and consultation. Since the very first Election Commission (EC), the general principle has been the universality of voting rights for every citizen, and the responsibility of drawing up the electoral roll has rested entirely and exclusively on the EC to ensure compliance with Article 326. Under the laid down procedure, names can be deleted from the draft roll only on the basis of verified objections, in consultation with the Home Ministry.
The SIR prescribed a procedure of house-to-house enumeration accompanied by the submission of a written application together with any one of eleven documents — most of which have extremely low coverage in Bihar. In effect, this implied non-inclusion in the roll because this was a de novo exercise in which undocumented citizens were deemed non-citizens and subject to automatic deletion. This was in complete violation of Article 326 and the principle of universal franchise. The opposition parties collectively met the EC but were summarily dismissed, without any assurance that the situation, which threatened mass disenfranchisement would be corrected.
Consequently, the opposition parties moved to protect citizens from disenfranchisement. After lengthy deliberations, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to publish the names of all 65 lakh persons removed from the voters’ list during the SIR, together with the reasons for their deletion. This is a welcome development, as the EC has failed to maintain transparency throughout the process. As many researchers have pointed out, a substantial number of those disenfranchised belong to minority communities, women, and poor households. There is widespread discontent in Bihar regarding the exercise. All opposition parties have united in opposing this process. The partisan character of the EC, which is implementing the RSS’s agenda as articulated by Prime Minister Modi in his 15 August address from Red Fort against so-called ‘ghuspetiyas’, must be exposed by campaigning among the people and mobilising them.
Protests against the SIR rocked Parliament and outside, in Delhi in public. The INDIA bloc met after a long gap to discuss the joint stand that needs to be taken on this issue, which is a positive development. The INDIA bloc has decided to conduct a 16-day ‘Voter Adhikar Yatra’ covering 25 districts of Bihar, which will conclude with a massive public rally in Patna on 1 September.
Apprehensions are growing against the EC, a constitutional body mandated to play an independent role, for its failure to address the unfolding of a massive ‘vote theft’ in one of the Bengaluru assembly constituencies during the Lok Sabha elections. The expose was based on documentary evidence sourced from the EC’s own records. The CEC, publicly treated these allegations with derision, peddling a tissue of lies, further establishing the EC’s partisan attitude that clearly favours the BJP.
Parliament Session: The monsoon session of Parliament witnessed intense protests by all opposition parties. The government refused to allow a discussion on the issue of the SIR in Bihar. Amid opposition protests, the Union government pushed through a number of bills, including the Sports Bill, which infringes on the rights of state governments. The government intends to introduce bills amending the Mines and Minerals Act and the Nuclear Liability Act. These bills are being introduced to facilitate the entry of private and foreign capital into the vital sectors of mineral exploration and nuclear energy production.
The Polit Bureau appeals to all political parties to oppose these bills, which are against the interests of the country. The government’s obdurate refusal to allow discussion on serious issues reflects its authoritarian character. As a result, many issues affecting the people that need to be discussed in Parliament are never finding a mention.
Tariffs on India: The United States announced 50 per cent tariffs on India – 25 per cent for failing to reach a trade deal and 25 per cent for purchasing oil and gas from Russia. This will severely impact India’s agricultural, fisheries sector and MSME, particularly textile manufacturers. Stopping oil purchases from Russia will increase inflation, as the prices of all commodities will rise due to the higher prices we would be forced to pay.
The US wants the Indian government to reduce Russian oil imports and rely more on the US for its energy needs. Hoping to secure concessions, the government also sought to appease the US by promising a significant increase in defence purchases from US aviation firms. The Indian government should not succumb to US pressure. Instead, it should focus on diversifying its relations and strive to strengthen multi-polarity.
Jammu and Kashmir: It has been five years since the abrogation of Article 370 and the bifurcation of the state into union territories. None of the stated objectives have been met. The Union government has failed to eliminate terrorism or provide security to the people of Jammu and Kashmir. The gruesome terrorist attack in Pahalgam exposed the false claims of the BJP-led Union government. It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court, instead of holding the Union government accountable for failing to honour its promise of restoring statehood within six months, observed that this is not the time to discuss statehood because of the Pahalgam attack. Throughout these five years of direct Union administration, the democratic rights of the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been trampled upon. There is widespread discontent and anger among the people of all regions – Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh – as none of the promised development has taken place. People should be mobilised to demand the restoration of statehood to Jammu and Kashmir, along with its autonomy.
Appeal Against Court Verdict in Malegaon Blasts Case: The Maharashtra state government reacted differently to two Court verdicts related to terror attacks — the Mumbai train blasts case (2006) and the Malegaon bomb blast case. In the Mumbai train blasts case, where the accused were mostly Muslims, the government immediately appealed to the Supreme Court and obtained a stay on the Court order. In contrast, in the Malegaon blasts case, where the accused were Hindutva extremist elements, the government did not appeal the acquittal. This clearly exposes the communal bias of the BJP-led state government in Maharashtra.
The Polit Bureau demands the Maharashtra state government to file an appeal before the Supreme Court against the Court’s order in the Malegaon blasts case and ensure that the accused are properly tried and convicted.
Vice Presidential Elections: The Polit Bureau discussed the upcoming election for the post of Vice President, necessitated by Dhankar’s sudden resignation. The CPI(M) will coordinate with the other opposition parties and the INDIA bloc for the success of the common candidate, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy.