Back to the roots? CPM to lead people's movements to bounce back

New Delhi: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) on Saturday has pledged to oppose the Modi government’s ‘anti-people, anti-farmer’ economic policies and mobilize the masses in a big way through mass struggles.

It has been decided that the Left would stoutly oppose the Centre’s economic policies, which are part of the neo-liberal drive, besides taking up the ‘anti-imperialist agenda, growing strategic ties with the US and the ruling classes succumbing to the US pressure’.

Identifying the areas of concern, the 21st Congress of the CPM in Vishakhapatnam has agreed to strongly focus upon the issues related to employment, economic and social disparities, acquisition of agricultural land, labour reforms and wages, guarantee of social security, decline in budgetary allocation to the social sector, raising the public expenditure on health to at least 5% of GDP, etc.

After the unanimous adoption of the Political Resolution at the party Congress on Saturday, its outgoing general secretary Prakash Karat strongly reiterated, “The Left will emerge as a sole champion of the people through conducting vibrant struggles on alternative policies. We were four Left parties before, now six.”

Karat urged his comrades towards building a strong Left and democratic front. “Only the Left and democratic alternative can save the country from the havoc being inflicted by neo-liberal capitalism and majoritarian communalism.”

Kavita Krishnan, Politburo member, CPI (ML) Liberation, who was present only during the inaugural session of the Congress said, “CPI (ML) hopes for Left unity based on independent Left assertion in struggles on all democratic issues as well as in the political arena.”

Realizing the importance of building a strong party, especially after it had faced a major electoral debacle in West Bengal Assembly election and poor performance in the Lok Sabha polls 2014, the CPM has emphasized on a strategy of expansion of its independent role, enhancing its strength and mass base, building and widening Left unity, rallying the various classes and working people around the Left and democratic programme.

CPM’s mobilization strategy:

· By making the party a vibrant and militant body to carry out the struggles of all sections of the working people · By strengthening the Marxist-Leninist ideological foundations of the party. · By reorienting and strengthening the organisation to fulfill the tasks set out. · All manifestations of the neo-liberal attack on the working people should be resisted by organizing and mobilizing the different sections of the working people. · Aggressively mobilize the cadre against the land acquisition bill through mass struggle, protest rallies and demonstrations from district to national level. · While, the party has to conduct a political-ideological struggle against the BJP, it won’t spare the Congress, as the latter had promoted neo-liberal policies, and it paved way for the BJP to garner public support and win election.

“Independently as well as by joining hands with other Left and democratic parties, farmers’ organizations and similar groups, we will jointly undertake countrywide agitation against the Centre, which is trying to push the anti-farmer land acquisition bill. A mass rally has been proposed on large-scale in Delhi in May. We want all to join it in a big way to stop Modi government’s economic policy of passing-off the taxes collected from the common man and looting of land for the benefit to the corporates,” a senior CPM leader told Firstpost.

Added Krishnan, “The Modi government’s promise of ‘good times’ has in fact meant good times for perpetrators of state terror and for corporate and communal forces. The Modi government is seen acting openly as the agent of Indian and foreign corporations. It is paving the way for corporate grab of peasants’ and adivasis’ land; for increasing prices of life-saving drugs; for using a public sector bank to subsidize Adani; and to appease tobacco corporations. The Left can and will rejuvenate itself, and with it the entire spectrum of people’s movements, with the spirited, united, independent Left assertion in every struggle against neo-liberal and pro-corporate policy.”