May 16, 2005
Press
Statement
The
Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on May
14 and 15, 2005. It has issued the following statement:
BJP Boycott
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemned the tactics adopted by the BJP of
boycotting the recently concluded session of Parliament.
The boycott extended not only to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha but to
all the standing committees. The
BJP has displayed a high degree of cynicism and contempt for parliamentary
democracy since the constitution of the 14th Lok Sabha.
Unable to come to terms with the electoral mandate of May 2004, the BJP
has indulged in confrontationist tactics. As
a result of its boycott, the Rural Employment
Guarantee Bill could not be taken up in the standing committee and
adopted in the current session of Parliament.
This has deprived the rural poor of an important measure to sustain their
livelihood. That the allies of the
BJP were not united in these negative tactics became evident when the TDP
decided to attend Parliament after the three-day boycott.
The allies of the BJP in the NDA should realise that the people have
disapproved of this one year of endless boycotts.
BJP
Disarray
The
aggressive posture of the BJP in Parliament could not cover-up the disarray
within the party leadership and the dissatisfaction expressed by the RSS about
its political front. The Gujarat
pogroms continue to haunt the BJP. Sundar
Singh Bhandari, former Governor of Gujarat and a senior BJP and RSS leader, has
gone on record criticising the role of the Modi government and the Centre when
the violence broke out. He has underlined the need for a probe into why the
administration failed to curb the spreading violence.
In
Gujarat, the state government continues to cover-up for those guilty of
perpetrating horrific crimes. The
diary of a senior police official shows how systematic efforts were made to aid
and abet those directing the attacks. 61,000
people remain displaced even three years after the riots.
Six serious cases before the Supreme Court should be referred to the CBI.
The government should take immediate steps in this regard.
The CBI should expedite the enquiry into the serious cases of mass
killings. The Central government
should take steps to expedite the investigations and take up with the Supreme
Court the need to process the cases before it speedily.
The
Polit Bureau noted the report sent by its Rajasthan Committee on the creation of
communal tension and organised violence by the sangh parivar against the
minority community in Bhilwara in Rajasthan and demanded immediate action
against the culprits.
Investigate
Centaur Hotel Deal
The
Comptroller and Auditor General report on the
sale of Centaur Hotels has clearly brought out the
gross irregularities and favours shown to certain parties when the sale
of the two hotels were undertaken. The
CPI(M) group in Parliament has been relentlessly demanding a full probe into
this privatisation deal. The Polit
Bureau of the CPI(M) welcomes the decision of the Central government to order an
enquiry into the sales. There is
another scandalous deal in the sale of the ITDC hotel at Kovalam, Kerala which
involved the sale of 65 acres of land which includes a state-owned guest house
and other properties. Action must
be taken on this matter too. It is
important that the responsibility for these fraudulent deals are pinpointed and
action taken so that, in future, such racketeering in the sale of public assets
does not take place.
On
Policy Issues
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) reiterated its opposition to the Banking Regulation
(Amendment) Act Bill. The Bill
seeks to do away with the 10 per cent voting rights cap for shareholders in
private Indian banks. This is being
done to facilitate the take over of the Indian private banks by foreign banks
who can acquire upto 74 per cent share. There
is no reason why the Central government should facilitate the take over of
Indian private banks by foreign banks through such a measure.
The
Polit Bureau reiterated its opposition to the privatisation of pension funds
which will be facilitated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority Bill.
The
Polit Bureau welcomed the passing of the Right to Information Act in the recent
session of Parliament. The Act
should help citizens get information about the way public funds are being spent
and to make public servants and officials more accountable. It wanted the government to introduce the Scheduled Tribes
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill in Parliament without delay.
The
Polit Bureau noted that due to the intervention of the Left Parties, the Special
Economic Zone Bill, which has been passed, has deleted those clauses which
exempt labour laws from being applicable to these zones.
Farmer’s
Problems
Farmers are suffering from heavy loss due to the steep fall in prices of chillies, mustard, tea and other commodities. The Central government should immediately step in to set minimum support price and ensure procurement.
No
Hike in Petroleum Prices
The
CPI(M) has conveyed to the government its opposition to the proposed hike in
prices of petroleum products. In
the Union budget, the excise duty proposals have led to an increase of Rs. 1.70
per litre for petrol and Rs. 1.15 for diesel.
This despite the claim of the Finance Minister that excise duty proposals
are revenue neutral. The
world prices being high, the government wants to make an increase taking into
account both the excise duty burden and the global prices.
The CPI(M) has submitted a note to the Minister for Petroleum
explaining how to meet this situation and prevent the burden being passed
on to the consumer to the maximum extent. This
requires (a) change in the excise duty so that it does not lead to retail price
hike (b) the 50 paise cess per litre on petrol and diesel for road construction
is an unnecessary burden over and above the current cess of Rs. 1.50 per litre.
This should be cancelled. (c) The import parity in pricing of petroleum products
gives undue advantage to private refineries and this should be done away with
(d) to meet the fluctuations in the international prices there should be a price
stabilization fund. The fund collected through cess on indigenous crude
amounting to Rs. 5,400 crores per annum can be used for this purpose.
Violence Against Women
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemned the rising incidents of violence
against women and girl children. The
gang rape of a university student in Delhi, the custodial rape of a young woman
in a police chowki in Mumbai, the spate of sexual assaults against minor girls
are a matter of deep concern and indicate a serious degeneration of social
attitudes towards women. Very
often, the police compound the problem by refusing to take such crimes
seriously. It is necessary to take
stringent action against the culprits and against police officials who did not
take the necessary steps. A big campaign is required by political parties,
social, and mass organisations against crimes against women and for
implementation of their duties by Governments and law enforcement agencies to
prevent such crimes. The CPI(M) calls upon its units to initiate such campaigns.
The
Polit Bureau condemned the gruesome attack
on a women anganwadi supervisor in
Madhya Pradesh whose hands were cut off for her campaign against child marriage.
The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is not concerned about the situation
as it is the repository of reactionary and outmoded social values. Its Ministers and
MLAs have patronised child marriages and instead of making the administration
accountable for such violations of children’s rights, it has held the
anganwadis responsible through an objectionable circular. While demanding the
withdrawal of the circular the
Polit Bureau demands firm action against those who perpetrated
this atrocity.
Foreign
Policy
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) welcomed the outcome of the visit of the Chinese
Prime Minister, Wen Jiabao, to India. Both
the countries have declared that they are upgrading relations to the status of
“strategic and cooperative partnership”.
An agreement on the political parameters and guiding principles for the
settlement of the India-China border question was adopted.
The eleven agreements signed during the visit augurs well for improving
all-round ties with China.
The
visit of Pakistan President Musharraf and the joint statement issued after talks
with the Indian Prime Minister has added momentum to improving relations between
the two countries and taking forward the bilateral dialogue. The people to people contacts and confidence building
measures have met with a good response from
the people of both sides.
The
Prime Minister’s visit to Indonesia on the occasion of the 50th
anniversary of the Bandung conference was also an occasion where India got the
opportunity to reaffirm its ties with African and Asian countries.
The
visit of Dr. Manmohan Singh to participate in the observance of the 60th
anniversary of the victory over fascism in Moscow has further strengthened the
close ties with Russia.
The United States is trying to draw India closer through the Next Steps in the Strategic Partnership (NSSP). It is holding out the promise of cooperation in the sphere of civilian nuclear energy and has offered to sell F-16 and F-18 fighter planes. The UPA government must treat these offers with caution to see whether they conform to national interests and requirements. The Polit Bureau reiterated its opposition to India joining the joint Missile Defence System proposed by the United States.
On
Supply of Arms to Nepal
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) criticised the UPA government for reversing its
decision to suspend the military supplies to the Nepalese armed forces. The King of Nepal has
suppressed democracy and has
instituted an authoritarian regime. The
release of some political leaders and activists has not led to any relaxation on
the curbs on political activities. As
far as large sections of Nepalese people are concerned, the King does not have
any legitimacy. The UPA government
should not be seen to be siding with the King against the democratic and popular
forces.
