Prakash’s Speech in Chennai

 

The following are the main points made by Prakash Karat in his speech in Tondaiyarpet on April  12.

 

1.      People have prepared a long charge sheet against the 10 year rule of the UPA led by the Congress. The biggest charge is massive price rise. By removing government controls on the prices of petroleum products, the Manmohan Singh government paved the way for prices of all commodities to rise.

 

2.      The second biggest failure of the Congress-led coalition is its failure to create employment. Though they keep talking of growth, it is not reflected in employment. The situation is that one-third of graduate youths are unemployed. Even where employment is obtained, it is informal, at low wages, temporary and with no social protection.

 

 

3.      In the last five years, the UPA government gifted Rs 21 lakh crore rupees as tax concessions to the big corporates. But the subsidies to farmers and common people in respect of essential needs including fertilisers  and fuel have been cut.

 

4.      The most important achievement of the Congress is historically unprecedented corruption.The people of Tamil Nadu are well aware of the 2G scam. People from this state were involved in it. People’s money running into crores and crores of rupees have been swindled in several scams such as Coal Blocks scam, Natural Gas pricing scam and so on.

 

 

5.      It is certain that the Congress will face a historic defeat in the elections. Everybody knows what will happen to the Congress in Tamil Nadu. The same thing will happen to them throughout India.

6.      The BJP which is presenting itself as the alternative to the Congress is not an ordinary political party. It is a party formed and directed by RSS which has as its basis religious fanaticism. It was the RSS that instructed the BJP that Narendra Modi should be fielded as the Prime Ministerial candidate. The reason for that is that he had implemented Hindutva policies loyally and vigorously.

 

7.      Modi says that the country needs the Gujarat model of governance. But the fact is that the Gujarat model is a Hindutva laboratory where Christian, muslim and other minorities are treated as second class citizens and where massive and violent attacks on them have taken place.

 

 

8.      The big capitalists are supporting Modi more than any of other capitalist political parties. If a Modi government comes into being, it will bring people several times the suffering than Manmohan Singh’s regime. People’s money will be swindled.

 

9.      In the last five years, the BJP has supported the Congress on all its anti- people, including the passing of the Bill in parliament privatizing pensions.

 

 

10. The BJP has stated in its election manifesto that it will amend labour laws to provide for greater flexibility. What this means is that workers’ rights will be trampled upon and steps taken to favour the big capitalists in this regard.

 

 

11. Until recently, the DMK was a partner in the Congress coalition government. It had supported it in all its anti-people policies and was a party to all the corruption scams. Though it has now left the coalition, it is not because it realized its mistakes. Even now, the DMK leader Karunanithi says that if the Congress apologizes, he is prepared to ally with it.

 

12. The AIADMK announced only a few weeks ago that a non-congress, non-BJP government would be formed with its participation. The AIADMK was a signatory to the 11- party joint declaration. But after the election campaign began, Jayalalithaa has not spoken a word on Modi or BJP. Modi goes on talking about the so-called Gujarat model of development. Tamil Nadu is ahead of Gujarat in many respects. But Jayalalithaa does not even talk about it.

 

13. The opportunist stand of the two Dravidian parties, offering support to either the Congress or the BJP for their narrow interests is treason against the people of Tamil Nadu and of India.

 

14. It is not enough that there is a change of government at the Centre. There is a need for an alternative policy. The Left Parties put forward before the people policies that are in the interest of the common people, the workers, the peasants and the agricultural labourers.

 

15. They demand a minimum wage of Rs 10,000 per month. Likewise, they demand that all those retiring from work must get a minimum pension of Rs 4000 per month. We have these demands in the manifesto of the CPI(M). We will fight for these alternative policies in all sheres including health and education.

 

16. The fact that the two communist parties are fighting this election jointly and independently for the first time in Tamil Nadu gives me great pleasure.