January
20, 2005
Press Release
The draft political
resolution for the 18th Congress of the CPI (M) has been prepared by
the Central Committee. It is being released for inner-Party
discussions prior to the holding of the Congress in April 2005.
The main points in the
draft are as follows:
The draft takes stock of
the national political situation. The ouster of the BJP-led government in
the Lok Sabha elections in May 2004 is seen as the most significant political
development since the last Party Congress in 2002. It notes that the Party’s
three main slogans based on the political-tactical line worked out at the 17th
Congress of a) defeating the BJP alliance b) formation of a secular government
at the Centre and c) strengthening the representation of the Party and the Left
in the Lok Sabha have proved successful.
Six Years of BJP Rule
The record of the six years
of BJP rule is analysed. After the horrific Gujarat pogroms, the efforts at a
cover-up and protecting those guilty; the attempts to undermine the judicial
process in the Ayodhya dispute to advance the VHP agenda and the communalization
of the educational system and the intimidation and assaults on artists and
intellectuals who refused to fall in line with the Hindutva ideology.
The BJP-led government
pushed the liberalization and privatization policies with greater vigour. No
other government in independent India was so pro-rich and callous to the
sufferings of the poor. The agrarian crisis and the rural distress which became
the hallmark of BJP rule is spelt out as the problems still continue.
Foodgrains production has fallen below the rate of population growth, rural
development expenditure as a percentage of GDP sharply fell and unemployment
became rampant in the rural areas. Suicides by thousands of farmers blighted the
land.
The BJP-led government
launched a ferocious onslaught on the public sector. This was accompanied by
unreasonable concessions to foreign capital. The fiscal policies were oriented
to give a bonanza to big business and the rich while heaping indirect taxes on
the common people.
It is this record of
communal, pro-rich and pro-imperialist policies which led to the isolation of
the BJP and the defeat of its alliance.
UPA Government’s Approach
The UPA
government, notwithstanding certain policy measures in the CMP is unwilling
to change course, and in essence, pursues the same policies as that of the
Vajpayee government. The resolution cites some instances:
“The
UPA government is pursuing the same policies of liberalisation and
privatisation. Notwithstanding certain policy measures in the Common Minimum
Programme, the government is unwilling to change course and, in essence, pursues
the same policies as that of the Vajpayee government. Some instances of this
are: the UPA government wants to further liberalise the financial sector by
facilitating the takeover of Indian private banks by foreign banks by
implementing a proposal to allow 74 per cent FDI in Indian private banks
announced by the previous government. It desires to privatise the insurance
sector further. It is going ahead with the privatisation of the Delhi and Mumbai
airports, a step initiated by the BJP-led government. It proposed the raising of
the FDI caps in telecom and insurance in the Union budget of 2004–05 which has
been halted due to opposition of the Left. It seeks to circumvent the commitment
not to privatise profitable PSUs by gradually disinvesting shares in these units
to meet its budgetary deficit.” (Para 2.17)
The draft makes the point
that the conditions of the people in certain vital aspects such as food
availability, employment and living conditions of the working people have
deteriorated in the last three years. Agricultural workers, poor and
middle peasants, those having no access to the targetted PDS, workers in
traditional industries and the unorganized sector and so forth. The draft calls
upon the Party to take up their issues and launch struggles for bettering their
conditions.
Analysing the features of
the current situation,
Danger of Communalism
Persists
The draft warns of the
latent strength of the BJP-RSS combine. It states:
“The
rise of the communal forces in the past one and a half decades and their
six-year period in office has enabled the communal ideology and organizations to
strike roots in different sections of society. It will be a mistake to
underestimate their latent strength. Though the electoral setbacks in the
Parliament and Maharashtra assembly elections have put them on the defensive and
their tactics to make a revival on the Hindutva platform have not yielded
popular support, the potential for their comeback exists.” (Para 2.73)
The draft underlines the
retrograde role of caste appeal and caste fragmentation in electoral politics:
“The
intensification of the caste appeal in electoral politics and the formulation of
the political forces on caste lines is a marked feature of the current
situation. Caste based political mobilisation which was a feature of the Hindi
states earlier has spread to other states too. This narrow appeal hampers the
development of the democratic movement and helps perpetuate patronage politics
revolving around caste leaders who switch allegiances without any ideological or
political convictions.” (Para 2.79)
As far as the regional
parties are concerned, the resolution reviews the experience of the recent past,
the draft states:
“The
Party’s stand of cooperating with secular regional parties who are prepared to
fight the communal forces while opposing those who join hands with the BJP, was
proved correct. In the recent period, it has led to the weakening of the BJP-led
alliance, the NDA, and some of the regional parties like the DMK have joined the
secular forces.”
Attitude to UPA Government
The draft spells out the
Party’s attitude to the UPA government as follows:
“The
Party extends support to the UPA government so that the levers of State power
are not with the combination headed by the BJP. It is up to the UPA to ensure
that its government has a stable tenure by implementing the pro-people measures
in the CMP and by maintaining its political cohesion. The Party and the Left
should continue to press the UPA government to see that the positive features in
the CMP are implemented and carried forward. This can be accomplished only by
bringing into play the pressure of mass movements and struggles. (Para 2.88)
“The
Party has no illusions about the basic approach and policies of the Congress-led
coalition government. It should act as the sentinel of the people’s interests
and take appropriate measures in this regard when required.” (Para 2.89)
Independent Role
The resolution stresses the
independent role to be played by the CPI(M):
“In
the present situation the Party has to play an independent role. That role
implies criticizing and opposing such steps of the government which are against
the people’s interests, or are a departure from the CMP and which are a
continuation of the same type of policies as the previous government’s. The
people should understand that the Party and the Left are not supporting the
government for continuing with the same discredited policies of the previous
communal and right wing government.
“This
independent role entails that the Party and the Left conduct political campaigns
to project the independent positions of the Left and popular mobilisations and
struggles to defend the rights and livelihood of the people. The mass
organisations have to play an active role in forging the widest movements both
for pressurising the government to implement pro-people measures included in the
CMP and to fight against the ill-effects of the continuing policies of
liberalisation and the effects of imperialist-driven globalisation.
“The
independent role of the Party does not mean confining to, or dealing only with
the CMP and government related issues. It means taking up the demands of the
Left and democratic programme set out in the 17th Congress of the
Party. The issues of land, wages, democratic rights of the working people have
to be taken up and struggles conducted. The issues of the basic classes have to
be championed and fought for.”
(Para
2.69, 2.70 and 2.71)
Present Tasks
The draft defines the
present tasks before the Party as follows:
“Given
the present situation the task is not only to carry forward the struggle against
the communal forces but also to intensify the struggle against the policies of
liberalization and the dictates of international finance capital. The CPI(M) and
the Left therefore must wage a struggle on both fronts – against communalism
and against the renewed push for liberalization. The struggle against
communalism and the economic policies are in fact connected to the
anti-imperialist task, as both the Hindutva forces and the liberalisers are
distinguished by their pro-imperialism.”
(Para 2.97)
On Third Alternative
The Party reaffirms its
goal of forging a third alternative. But it says that it is not an
immediate possibility. The Party should strive for such an alternative by
strengthening the Party and the Left and rallying other secular non-Congress and
non-BJP forces on a common policy platform and by having joint campaigns and
movements. The Third alternative cannot be equated to the temporary
electoral understanding and alliances which are forged to meet immediate
electoral aims.
The Party has reiterated
that a real alternative to the bourgeois-landlord policies can be a Left and
democratic alternative. For advancing toward such a Left and democratic
front, the Party should:
i. Strengthen
the existing Left unity of the four Left parties and by bringing onto the
Left platform all groups and individuals who are Left minded.
ii. Strengthen
the political support for the Left Front governments of West Bengal and Tripura
and continue the fight for alternative policies in the difficult situation where
the Centre pursues neo-liberal policies.
iii. Work
to mobilise all sections of the working people to fight for a Left and
democratic platform as an alternative set of policies.
The draft resolution set
out the Left and democratic platform with alternative policies for strengthening
secularism and national unity, federalism, for democratization of agrarian
relations, for an economy sovereign and based on peoples needs, protecting the
rights of the working people, social justice and for an independent foreign
policy.
International situation
The draft resolution
highlights the aggressive moves of the USA under the Bush administration in the
past three years. The invasion and occupation of Iraq, the threats to the DPRK,
Iran and Syria. The tightening of illegal sanctions and blockade of Cuba and so
on.
The occupation of Iraq has
led to fierce resistance and this fight for freedom from imperialist subjugation
is at the centre of the world-wide resistance against the hegemonic ambitions of
the United States. Resistance to imperialist globalisation has developed in
different parts of the world, particularly in South America.
In the recent period, the
exploitation of the developing countries has intensified further using the
instruments of the WTO, IMF and World Bank and the coordinated efforts of the
G-8 countries to break down barriers to financial capital flows and capturing
markets.
The resolution expresses
concern at the heightened influence of the US in the South Asian countries and
the new military and security pacts made with India’s neighbouring countries.
It expresses concern at the situation within Bangladesh where fundamentalist
forces have gained ground. It commits the CPI(M) to strengthen ties with
the Left and progressive forces in the South Asian countries.
Intensify Struggle Against
Imperialism
The resolution calls for a
powerful anti-imperialist mobilisation within the country and pledges support to
all the movements against imperialist-globalisation, for national liberation and
against imperialist aggression and blockades.
The draft concludes with a
call to build and strengthen the Party all over the country so that the struggle
against imperialism, defence of people’s economic interests and fight against
communal and divisive forces can advance.