Central Committee Communique

April 30, 2023

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on April 27-29, 2023. It has issued the following statement:

Grim Economic Situation

According to IMF, India’s GDP growth was the fastest amongst world’s large economies. While the Modi government is on a propaganda overdrive projecting this, it conceals the well-known fact that the growth of 9.1 per cent in FY 2021 was against a -5.8 in 2020 – base effect phenomenon. When the compounded annual growth rate from 2019, a normal pre-covid year is taken, then India’s annual growth stands at 3.8 per cent. Over FY 2022 and FY 2023 India added $ 350 billion to its economy while USA added $1390 billion and China $1274 billion. India has the lowest per capita income among all the large economies. In per capita income terms USA is 31 times higher, China 5 times, Brazil 4 times, UK 18 times, Germany 20 and so on. Thus, even with the 5th largest GDP in the world our per capita income is lower than Angola, Ivory Coast etc.

Manufacturing and Industrial sectors are, at best, stagnant, if not declining. Growth of 8 crore infrastructure sectors halved to 3.6 per cent in March from 7.2 per cent in February.

Consequently, unemployment rate continues to remain at a record high of around 8 per cent. The number of employed has remained almost stagnant – 41.1 crore in pre-pandemic January 2020 and 40.9 crore in January 2023. Rural wages remained virtually stagnant during the last 8 years. When MGNREGS was most needed, budgetary allocations are cut by 1/3rd and unpaid wages are pending for longtime.

Under these circumstances, the Central Committee demanded greater public expenditures in job creating works by the Union government which will increase employment, people’s purchasing power and boost demand in the economy.

Adani Probe

With the government clearly refusing to probe allegations of fraud against the Adani group, the SEBI filed a plea for extension of the May 2 deadline of the Supreme Court to file a status report on the probe, by six months.

For the truth to be established about these allegations, it is necessary that a JPC to be constituted to investigate.

The Wrestlers Protest

The Central Committee extended full support to India’s medal winning wrestlers’ protest demanding justice against allegations of sexual harassment. Despite the initial reluctance, the Delhi police had to file an FIR against the Wrestling Federation of India president, BJP MP Brij Bhushan Saran Singh.

The Central Committee demanded the WFI President must be removed from holding this office and police should immediately act on the FIR followed by stringent punishment.

Jammu and Kashmir

J&K has remained without an elected assembly since 2018. The Union government had laid down three conditions to be fulfilled before the holding of elections – completion of the delimitation process; upgradation of electoral rolls and a peaceful atmosphere for holding elections. All three of them, as per the government’s own admission, have been fulfilled. Yet the refusal to hold the elections clearly shows that the ruling dispensation is not sure about forming a government of its choice. This is a blatant infringement of the basic Constitutional and democratic rights of the people.

The Central Committee demanded the immediate holding of elections.

Forest Conservation Act Amendment

This amendment introduced in the din in the wasted budget session of the Parliament is disastrous, worsening the challenges of climate changes and its impact already being felt in various ways in the country. These amendments eliminate the Constitutional and legal rights of Gram Sabhas to give or withhold consent for any project in their areas; liberalizes norms for diversion of forest lands; promote privatization of forests and give more powers to the Union government to dilute the rights of state governments over forest governance. This is a further assault for the rights of the Adivasis and traditional forest dwellers and is a direct violation of the existing Forest Rights Act.

This amendment must be withdrawn.

Tripura

The Central committee strongly condemned the continuing post assembly elections violence unleashed by the ruling BJP. Apart from physical attacks, large scale extortion is taking place and people are threatened that their properties, shops, means of livelihood like auto rickshaws etc. will be destroyed if they don’t pay the demanded money. This is ruining the lives and livelihoods of lakhs of people.

The Central Committee demanded an immediate stop to this violence and the strict adherence to rule of the Constitution; identify and take action against the culprits.

Opposition Moves

The Central Committee reiterated that the main task before the country and the people is to isolate and defeat the BJP. To achieve this, the CPI(M) will cooperate and work together with secular opposition parties.

On issues of national importance like sharpening of communal polarization; poisonous campaigns of hate and violence; the Adani scam; misuse of central agencies; conducting a caste census; assaulting Federalism; the maximum unity of secular opposition parties must be forged to highlight such issues. Further, forge unity of all secular opposition forces in protest actions against the attacks on peoples livelihood and in every state, depending on the concrete situation obtaining there, the secular opposition must work out tactics to maximize the pooling of anti-BJP votes in the elections. As the situation varies from state to state these arrangements will necessarily be state specific.

CC Calls:

The Central Committee decided to consult the left parties to launch nationwide united actions, on issues of immediate concern for the country and people’s livelihood

In consultation with other secular opposition parties to raise issues of national importance through demonstrable public actions and manifestations.

Organization

The Central Committee decided to fill up the vacancy in Central Committee by inducting Vikram Singh, a leader of the agricultural workers movement as a CC member.

Central Committee Communique

August 8, 2009

Press Communiqué

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi from December 20 to 22, 2007. It has issued the following statement:

Repair Ties With Iran

The National Intelligence Estimate made public in the United States in early December has stated that Iran has stopped its nuclear weapons programme in 2003 and that it has not restarted the programme as of mid-2007. This assessment made by the 16 intelligence organisations of the United States collectively has knocked the bottom out of the case made by the Bush administration against Iran on the nuclear issue. Since 2005, the United States has been targetting Iran and has got Iran’s nuclear programme referred to the Security Council. Two rounds of sanctions were imposed on Iran by the Security Council and the United States has also unilaterally imposed sanctions penalising Iranian banks and other institutions. The Government of India had gone along with the US position and voted twice against Iran in the International Atomic Energy Agency. Under pressure of the US sanctions, India has been going slow on the Iran gas pipeline project. The State Bank of India was not issuing Letters of Credit to Iranian companies.

With the Bush administration’s fabricated stand being exposed, it is incumbent upon the UPA government to review its shortsighted and harmful policy towards Iran. The CPI(M) has consistently maintained that India should act on the basis of its long-term interests and its need for energy security. The UPA government has to tell the country what steps it is taking to ensure that the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project becomes a reality. Clear instructions should go out to banking sector and oil companies and other business entities that doing business with Iran has the full backing of the government. This is the least that should be done to restore confidence that India adheres to an independent foreign policy.

Food Policy and PDS

The decision of the Government to go in for further imports of wheat to ensure a buffer stock points to the urgent need for a reversal of current policies concerning foodgrain procurement and the PDS. Already the prices of imported wheat has skyrocketed and is 80 per cent higher than last year. It has shot up from 326 dollars a tonne in June, to 389 dollars a tonne in August to 400 dollars a tonne in November. This in turn is more than double the price paid to the Indian farmer. Nor has it helped to bring any substantial reduction in prices in the open market. At the same time in spite of expensive imported wheat, the Government has continued its severe cuts in allocations to the public distribution system both for rice and wheat. This has virtually taken the APL cardholders out of the PDS. In other words all concerned sections, the farmer, the ration cardholder, the consumer, have been negatively affected. Government expenditure on imported foodgrain has hugely increased.

The only beneficiaries are private trade mainly MNCs, corporates and agri-businesses who have had windfall profits on both counts. Firstly by the encouragement offered by Government to purchase foodgrains from Indian farmers at prices only slightly higher than the Government’s Minimum Support Price but able to make profits from its sale in the open market or through hoarding. Secondly by providing imported wheat at high prices. The CPI(M) demands that the Government reverse these policies. Procurement must be ensured by official agencies giving farmers a fair return. In this context the delay in announcing a fair price for rice procurement is unfortunate. The CPI(M) demands at least 1000 rupees a tonne for rice.

At the same time the cuts in APL allocations must be reversed. The calculations of the National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector that around 83 crore people live with less than twenty rupees a day when compared to 6 crore BPL family card holders, shows that two-thirds of these sections who require food subsidy given their low levels of income are excluded from BPL cards. Instead of universalizing the system of PDS, Government is further cutting APL allocations. We strongly condemn this and demand universalisation of PDS and as a first step restoration of APL allocations.

Price Rise

The prices of food items and essential commodities continue to rise. This has become the biggest burden on the people. The CPI(M) demands that Essential Commodities Act be tightened and stringent steps taken against hoarding and speculation in essential commodities. The futures trading should be prohibited not only for wheat and rice but also for other essential commodities.

Legislations

The Central Committee urges the Government to bring forward the promised social legislations in the forthcoming budget session. The first should be the introduction of the Women’s Reservation Bill in its present form.

The Standing Committee recommendations for redrafting of the legislation for unorganized sector workers according to the recommendations of the Arjun Sengupta Commission should also be implemented and passed in the next session of Parliament.

Assam Adivasi Agitation

The Central Committee condemned the violence, which erupted during the rally organised by the adivasi organisation in Guwahati and the shameful episode of the stripping of a young girl and her public humiliation. The Central Committee demands that the Assam state Government and the Central Government take immediate steps to grant Schedule Tribe status for the tea garden adivasis and five other tribal communities.

Sub-Plan for Minorities

The Central Committee expressed its disappointment that the Eleventh Five Year Plan finalised in the National Development Council meeting has not provided for a sub-plan for the minorities. The plan has stopped short by talking of separate earmarking of fiscal and financial targets for the minority communities. Even this provision has been attacked by the BJP and the Gujarat Chief Minister as “communal budgeting”. This displays the communal mindset of the BJP, which seeks to deprive some of the most disadvantaged sections in our society from getting fair share in development.

Nuclear Deal

The Central Committee heard a report of the discussions on the Indo-US nuclear deal, which took place in the UPA-Left Committee. It endorsed the stand taken that after the talks with the IAEA for a safeguards agreement, the outcome will be placed before the UPA-Left Committee for its consideration before proceeding further with the agreement.

Nandigram

The Central Committee heard a report on the current situation in Nandigram. With the return of people from all sides to their homes, normalcy is returning to the block which was under the occupation of the forces behind the so-called Bhoomi Uched Prathirodh Samiti for eleven months. The state administration is taking steps to provide relief and rehabilitation. Mini kits are being provided to the farmers for the upcoming Rabi season.

The false campaign by a section of the media and anti-communist political forces about murder, rape and arson in Nandigram is designed to defame the CPI(M). An illustration of this smear campaign is the spate of media reports attributed to the CBI about the incidents of March 14. What is being cited are not the CBI’s conclusion after investigations but the complaints lodged and the deposition of persons in this connection. The CBI has yet to submit its report to the High Court for which it has asked for two months time.

It is unfortunate that the remains of five persons killed have been dug up to concoct charges against the CPI(M). The fact is that all the five persons whose names have been given, are actually supporters of the Party who died in a bomb blast in a refugee camp in October. Cases were lodged with the police on the deaths, postmortems conducted of the bodies and then they were cremated. Such instances are being twisted to malign the Party.

Since the CPI(M) is in the forefront of opposition to a strategic alliance with the United States and firmly against neo-liberal policies which harm the interests of the working people, vested interests are targetting the Party. The Central Committee called upon all its Party units to firmly counter this vilification campaign.

Draft Political Resolution

The Central Committee discussed the Draft Political Resolution to be presented to the 19th Congress of the Party to be held in March next year. After intensive discussions, the Central Committee unanimously adopted the draft of the resolution. The draft resolution will be released in mid-January, so that as per the constitutional provision it can be discussed at all levels in the Party, two months before the Party Congress.