The resolution was adopted by the 24th Party Congress of CPI(M)
The 24th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) believes that welfare schemes that provide essential public goods and services —like food, shelter, employment, pensions, education, and healthcare—are not acts of charity but are the fundamental rights of every citizen.
Every citizen has the right to access these essential requirements which are the bedrock of justice and equality. Economic rights play a crucial role in social progress and welfare programmes serve as investments in human capital, creating a more productive workforce and driving long-term economic growth.
The introduction of neoliberal policies has seen ideological and decimating attacks on the social sector since their basic premise is that governments should withdraw from these sectors and that health and educational facilities should be privatised in the interest of the corporates.
The BJP-led Modi government has intensified efforts to dismantle these programmes and reduce subsidies. Prime Minister Modi has been at the forefront of denigrating social welfare by branding such initiatives as ‘revdis’ (freebies), falsely claiming they harm the country’s development. This narrative dismisses the crucial role of social welfare in shielding vulnerable sections from the adverse effects of market-driven, neo-liberal policies pursued by the BJP central government.
Some of the cash transfer schemes introduced by the Modi government in place of subsidy-based schemes will eventually lead to the dilution and then dismantling of essential social security programmes, rendering the most vulnerable sections of society more helpless than ever.
This approach is a contravention of the Directive Principles of State Policy, part of the Constitution itself, which mandates that the government ensures a dignified life for all citizens, irrespective of caste, creed, or other distinctions. Unfortunately, these are not legally enforceable and there is a need to transform them into justiciable Constitutional citizens’ rights.
Governments pursuing neo-liberal agendas argue that these rights cannot be guaranteed because of financial constraints. This is a spurious argument since the continuous reduction of corporate taxes combined with a refusal to collect taxes that are legally due from corporates is an important part of their fiscal policy. The BJP government has reduced these taxes in every year of its existence. A rationalised tax structure would ensure delivery of all essential services to all citizens.
The 24th Congress of the CPI(M) calls upon the people of the country to unite and mobilize for the struggle to secure these basic rights to food, shelter, employment, pension, education and healthcare while resolutely resisting the central government’s attempts to undermine various existing welfare programmes.