Press Statement

The Central Committee of the CPI(M) met in New Delhi on 11th and 12th August, 2001. It took stock of the international and national situation since its last meeting held in June. It has issued the following statement:

Scrap These Policies Or Quit

The Central Committee took serious note of the all round deterioration in the country. The nearly two-year rule of the Vajpayee government has led to a dismal situation. The overall economy is in bad shape, which has had an extremely adverse impact on the people’s living conditions. The BJP-led government’s disastrous economic policies have led the country into a blind alley. Foodgrain stocks have piled up while the people in drought-affected areas are going hungry. The WTO regime has harmed the peasantry with steep fall in prices of agricultural commodities. Unemployment is mounting with large-scale closures of small industries and enterprises. The government is shamelessly trying to sell of the profitable public sector units which involves the plunder of public assets.

The Vajpayee government has shamelessly declared itself to be a junior partner of US imperialism. India has the dubious record of welcoming the Bush administration’s aggressive National Missile Defence plan. It succumbs to US on all issues connected with India’s economic sovereignty, trade and other basic rights.

The BJP-led government is mired in one scandal after another. This year alone, the country has witnessed the tehelka tapes exposure, the stock market scam and now the UTI scandal, which affects crores of small investors and their families.

The BJP-led government is more interested in communalising the educational system and protecting the chauvinist organisations of the RSS combine who are busy attacking the minorities and their rights. There is no let up on the communal poison which is being spewed against both Muslims and Christians.

The Central Committee therefore decided to have a country-wide movement with the central slogan being "Scrap These Policies Or Quit".

For this the Central Committee decided to devote the whole month of September to first campaign amongst the people on the slogan and follow it up with picketting and court arrest programme.

* From 7th to 21st September, the Party will organise 2,000 public meetings all over the country demanding that the Vajpayee government scrap its harmful policies or quit the government.
* On September 25, 26 & 27, 10 lakh people representing workers, peasants, agricultural labourers, youth, women, student, artisans, shop keepers etc will be mobilised to picket central government offices and court arrest during these days.

Jammu & Kashmir

The Central Committee strongly condemned the terrorist attacks which has led to the heinous massacres of innocent people in the Doda-Kishtwar region and the attack on Jammu railway station. The Central government has so far failed to take effective measures to protect the lives of citizens in this region. While demanding that the government take all adequate measures, the central committee wishes to emphasise that the BJP-led government has a wrong and harmful approach to the problem in Jammu & Kashmir.

The Central Committee strongly criticised the BJP-led government’s refusal to consider provision of maximum autonomy to the state of Jammu & Kashmir. The Home Minister, L.K. Advani categorically rejected the demand for more autonomy in parliament recently. The BJP-led government seems to believe that by reliance only on the administration and security operations, the problem in J&K can be solved.

The CPI(M) firmly believes that a democratic solution to the problem in Jammu & Kashmir and for ending the alienation of the people in the Kashmir valley can be reached only when the central government is prepared to take steps to provide maximum autonomy within the ambit of Article 370.

The Central Committee decided that the Party stand for maximum autonomy in Jammu & Kashmir should be part of the campaign to be launched by the Party in the month of September.

UTI Scandal

The Central Committee reiterated the stand of the Party that the small investors who comprise the overwhelming bulk of investors in the US 64 scheme have been betrayed by the freeze on the sale and repurchase of units and the scheme of redemption announced by the Trust later. Nothing less than providing the unit holders the rate prevailing before the freeze was announced will do justice. The UTI and the finance ministry has allowed the big corporates to take out money from the US 64 scheme while leaving the small investors in the lurch. The Central Committee asserted that the finance minister, Yashwant Sinha cannot be allowed to continue in his post after the series of scandals affecting the financial sector. He should resign forthwith.

Military Links with the United States

The Central Committee demanded that the Vajpayee government desist from forging strategic military links with the United States. The Indo-US military Cooperation pact signed in 1995 should not be revived in the light of the whole range of sanctions imposed by the United States on India after the Pokhran tests in 1998. The Vajpayee government is going ahead with collaboration with the United States to the extent of assisting America’s Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean.

In the name of combatting terrorism and the narcotics trade, the Vajpayee government is also allowing the FBI and the CIA to enter into India’s internal security matters.

The Central Committee appealed to all democratic forces in the country to realise the dangers inherent in this pro-imperialist approach of the Vajpayee government.

Election Review

The Central Committee finalised the election review report of the assembly elections to the four states — West Bengal, Kerala, Assam and Tamilnadu held in May.

Preparations for Party Congress

The Central Committee approved the time-table for holding of Party conferences at all levels in preparation for the 17th Congress of the Party.

The venue and exact dates of the Party Congress will be decided soon.