CPI(ML) HOME Vol.8, No.13 29 March – 4 April, 2005

The Weekly News Bulletin of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)(Liberation)

U-90, Shakarpur, Delhi 110092. Tel: (91)11-22521067. Fax(91)11-22518248


In this Issue:

The Party Congress and the Congress Party: Predicament of the Opportunist Left

BETWEEN THE LAST WEEK of March and the second week of April, the CPI and the CPI(M) are holding their triennial Party Congresses. While the CPI’s Congress is being held in Chandigarh, the CPI(M) has for the first time chosen Delhi as the venue for its Congress. There is something paradoxical about the choice of Delhi and Chandigarh as the venues for these two major events of the two parties. On the one hand, the choice reflects, and is probably intended to reflect, the increased profile of the two parties in New Delhi’s corridors of power. Yet in terms of their real political penetration and presence in the Hindi-belt and in states like Punjab, the two parties have only grown weaker and not stronger over the years. In the recent Assembly elections, the two parties drew a blank in Jharkhand and managed to win just four seats in Bihar.

In fact, the whole perception of the Left having a major say in the functioning of the UPA government is more of a false alarm raised deliberately by the corporate media and the BJP and perhaps cleverly endorsed by the Congress so that the Left could have its say and the Congress, its way! One look at the three major issues rocking the country – farmers’ suicides, starvation deaths and WTO-dictated trade robbery – and the UPA government’s response – further reduction of subsidies, a heavily diluted and tokenist employment guarantee scheme, greater freedom for FDI in every key sector and an amended patent act that is bound to pave the way for unmitigated MNC control over all our economic resources, and the myth of the Left’s increased profile quickly falls to pieces. The two budgets of the UPA government so far have borne all the usual neo-liberal hallmarks, standard Manmohan-Chidambaram-Montek measures like hefty concessions for big corporations, lucrative bounties for the affluent consumer and steep hike in allocation for the military-industrial complex.

Even on the crucial question of containing the BJP, the Congress-UPA attitude continues to range from the ambivalent to the complicit, and bears no sign of any possible influence of the Left. Where does one see any Left imprint on the way Uma Bharti was bailed out by the Karnataka government or the way now the UPA government is taking up cudgels for Narendra Modi on the issue of his foreign trips? In Jharkhand, the two old communist parties watched helplessly as the UPA first messed up a golden opportunity to dislodge the NDA from power in the polls and then tried to win power on the basis of the Governor’s ‘discretion’! In Bihar too, their fabled ‘persuasive power’ could do little to save the UPA and the corrupt, criminalised, repressive and thoroughly discredited dispensation of Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Bihar and Jharkhand could well be a pointer to the shape of things to come. The Congress may not have recorded much of a real recovery in social and electoral terms, but occupying as it does the commanding heights of power in Delhi, it does have the ability to pull the strings through politico-administrative manipulations. And it has already served enough notice to its allies in Bihar and Jharkhand. How will the CPI(M) face the Congress in the next elections in West Bengal and Kerala even as it collaborates with the Congress at the Centre? The two parties had put out their draft resolutions well before the latest round of Assembly elections and it will be interesting to see if the final documents adopted at Chandigarh and Delhi throw any light as to how the two parties propose to negotiate the potholes on their road to closer ties with the Congress.

In the wake of its disastrous dalliance with the Congress in the 1970s, a chastened CPI had met at Bhatinda in Punjab in 1978 and the Bhatinda Congress had steered the party away from its strategic partnership with the Congress. Around the same time as the CPI was reviewing its historic Emergency embrace with the Congress, the CPI(M) too held a special plenum at Salkia in West Bengal and resolved to expand the party in the Hindi-speaking states. Between Bhatinda and Chandigarh, the CPI has now almost completed a full circle to return to a new phase of near-strategic alliance with the Congress. The CPI(M) too has moved steadily rightward since 1978 and today the CPI(M)’s tactical trajectory has reached a point of near-total convergence with that of the CPI.

The draft resolutions circulated by both the CPI and the CPI(M) do talk about the need to develop a Left and democratic alternatiove or a third alternative. The CPI resolution also projects the goal of communist unity, while the CPI(M) stresses a ‘broad unity and united intervention’ of the Left beyond ‘the current unity of the four left parties’. Both resolutions deplore the weakness of the Left in the Hindi heartland. Yet both parties shy away from the real question of developing a new and effective model of Left unity, both nationally and in the Hindi belt. While the CPI maintains a studied silence on the question, the CPI(M) rules out any ‘Left platform’ with the CPI(ML) even as it agrees to work with the CPI(ML) ‘in united platforms in the fight against communalism, imperialism and on working class issues’. This exposes not only the CPI(M)’s ostrich-like sectarianism but also how it actually divorces its model of Left politics from united struggles on key questions.

Real life has consistently demolished the CPI(M) attempts to define the parameters of Left politics and Left unity. If the CPI(M) refuses to recognise the vibrant Left forces outside of its framework, it can always keep itself busy with greater unity with the Congress and the likes of Lalu Prasad. But then, is not that precisely the course that has brought the two old communist parties to their current political predicament? Activists and well-wishers of the Left must reject the sectarian and suicidal course represented by the CPI(M) leadership and intensify their fight for a meaningful and principled

We must fulfil the dreams of Great Martyr Bhagat Singh

Bhagat Singh was remembered throughout the country on his 74th Martyrdom Day on 23 March. The day was observed as Resistance Day in Giridih where a massive rally was held and various other programme were held in other parts of Jharkhand. While in JNU, Delhi AISA began a Shahadat Saptah on 23 March, the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh-Sukhdev-Rajguru as well as the revolutionary poet Pash which will conclude on 31 March, the martyrdom day of Comrade Chandrashekhar.

Martyrdom Day in Jharkhand

A huge rally was held in Giridih where CPI(ML) General Secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya called upon the people to further strengthen their struggle against Arjun Munda govt. responsible for many killings and massacre like Doranda-Tapkara in its earlier tenure. People of Jharkhand have not given a mandate to NDA but it managed to remain in power through bribing MLAs and murdering democracy. He reminded that when martyred Comrade Mahendra Singh once raised the issue of giving 'supari' by SP Deepak Verma then the Speaker of the Assembly gave a ruling for not including the word 'supari' in the proceedings terming it unparliamentary. But now the same people are applauding their leader Advani when he said in Parliament that governor had accepted supari for making a government.

Comrade Dipankar attacked Congress-JMM and RJD for not raising the issue of killing of Comrade Mahendra Singh, though it became a political issue among the people throughout the state. The mis-doings of these parties has given one more chance to the BJP in the state. He cautioned against such compromising forces in the name of opposition who always run away from the struggles and actual issues of the masses. Recent Assembly elections in Jharkhand has once against brought the truth to the fore that the fascist forces like BJP can only be ousted through sustained and intense mass struggles. While reiterating CPI(ML)'s resolve to oust the killer Arjun Munda govt., he told the audience that the fact that CPI(ML) got one and a half lakh votes in Giridih district reverberates the resolve of the people that if the killers of Comrade Mahendra Singh are not sent behind the bars they are ready for a historic struggle against those forces.

This rally attended by more than ten thousand people was also addressed by Faisal Anurag and Dayamani Barla, leaders of Mahendra Singh Hatya Virodhi Manch. The rally passed several resolutions demanding immediate arrest of main accused of Comrade Mahendra Singh's murder, SP Deepak Verma and ex-minister Ravindra Rai, dismiss Deepak Verma on the basis of Vigilance DIG BD Ram's report, CBI inquiry into the murders of Umesh Ojha and Prashant Sahai and to immediately hold Panchayat elections.

The rally also declared to launch an exposure campaign against state govt. from 1 to 15 April and appealed to foil every anti-people design of the BJP-led govt. in Jharkhand.

Besides this, conventions were organised on the Martyrdom Day in Ramgarh, Chainpur, Lesliganj, and Garhwa. While on the Holi day, CPI(ML) units organised burning of effigies of Deepak Verma and Ravindra Rai in all the districts, while in Bagodar effigies of Arjun Munda were also consigned to the Holi flames in dozens of villages.

“Oath Day” was organised in Ahmedabad

The RYA’s Ahmedabad unit celebrated Bhagat Singh’s Martyrdom Day as ‘Oath Day’. On this occasion a rally of youths, labourers and other toiling masses was taken out. CPI(ML) leader Ranjan Ganguly addressed the mass meeting and described Bhagat Singh as the greatest hero of the freedom struggle against British imperialism. Laxmanbhai Patanwadiya and RYA leader Amit Patanwadiya also addressed the meeting

RYA Observed the Day in Delhi

Bhagat Singh‘s martyrdom day was observed as Anti-Imperialist day by Revolutionary Youth Association at Narela and Jahangirpuri. At Narela, there was a colourful celebration. School children and cultural teams presented folk and revolutionary songs. Sardar Harbansh Singh, the veteran freedom fighter of Bhagat singh`s generation was present as living reminder of Bhagat Singh`s Age and struggle. Swapan Mukherjee, Lal Bahadur Singh, VKS Gautam and Ravi Rai also addressed these meetings.

Martyrdom Day Observed in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand unit of All India Students' Association observed Bhagat Singh Martyrdom Day by organising various programmes in different campuses. Conventions on "Bhagat Singh's revolutionary legacy and need for a second freedom struggle" were organised in Srinagar and Gopeshwar. Speakers also recalled the contributions of the revolutionaries from the soil of Uttarakhand like Nagendra Sakalani and Chandra Singh Garhwali in a similar context. CPI(ML) Garhwal incharge Kailash Pandey and AISA's Uttarakhand President Indresh Maikhury spoke in these conventions. In Nainital and Rudrapur, mass meetings were held. Conventions were organised also in Dehradun and Haldwani. In Ramnagar Prabhat Pheri (Morning March) was organised by AISA along with many other left organisations.

Shahadat Saptah in JNU

In JNU, AISA celebrated the eighth anniversary of Comrade Chandrashekhar’s martyrdom with a Shahadat Saptah. AISA began the Shahadat Saptah with a screening of ‘Ten Days That Shook The World’ – a film based on John Reed’s documentary novel. On the same night, AISA screened Motorcycle Diaries, based on Che Guevara’s notes of his travels in Latin America as a young medical student. The Shahadat Saptah this year declared that at a time when imperialist armies are assaulting third world nations and plundering third world economies, Bhagat Singh’s legacy of anti-imperialist nationalism and Che’s anti-imperialist internationalism becomes all the more relevant.

On 23 March itself, the AISA-led JNUSU also held a talk by NBA activist Medha Patkar, on ‘Development and Displacement: Toiling Masses in the Line of Fire’. On 28 March, AISA held the Chandrashekhar Memorial Lecture. This year, Prof. G S Bhalla, Professor Emeritus, CSRD, JNU delivered the memorial lecture on ‘Globalization and Unfolding Agrarian Crisis’. On the night of 29 March, AISA held ‘Hile Le Jhakjhor Duniya’: an evening of protest music. This included Bhojpuri and Hindi songs by cultural team ‘Hirawal’ from Patna, as well as songs of the peoples of the North-East, by AISA activist Balindra Saikia.

On 31 March, Comrade Chandrashekhar’s martyrdom day, AISA will hold a Procession saluting his legacy. 

Bihar

The martyrdom Day was observed in several districts of Bihar by AISA and RYA including Jehanabad, Nalanda, Ara, Darbhanga and Rohatas.

Advancing Comrade Mahendra Singh's Unfinished Struggle ...

At a time when the entire Party in Jharkhand is working hard to advance the struggle left unfinished by the martyred Comrade Mahendra Singh, the newly elected party legislator from Bagodar, Vinod Kumar Singh, made his presence felt inside the Assembly on the first day of the session. This was also a sweet reminder of how Comrade Mahendra used to assert inside the Assembly despite being a lone member of the Party and that even a single left sparkle can take the House by a storm.

On March 25, when Chief Minister Arjun Munda described Comrade Mahendra's murder as an act of extremists during the passing of the condolence resolutions, Vinod Singh immediately stood up and strongly objected to it calling such description mischievous and aimed at influencing the course of investigation when a CBI inquiry is still pending. He demanded that govt. must immediately act on the FIR lodged by the wife of the deceased leader and order arrest of the killers named in the FIR. He said that the condolence resolution would be meaningless if the killers are not arrested and punished. Vinod Singh also proposed to pass a resolution expressing condolences to the seven people of a single family who committed suicide in a state of utter deprivation and destitution, to express Assembly's concerns for the democracy.

On March 26, the second day of the session, Vinod Singh asked for an adjournment motion demanding that the issue of the murder of Mahendra Singh should be discussed in the context of BD Ram's report. The Speaker assured to take up the issue after question hour which he refused to comply. This behaviour of the Speaker led to an hour-long commotion in the house and a number of opposition members also joined the lone CPI(ML) MLA and shouted slogans condemning this act. Later, they boycotted the house.

CPI(ML)'s Protest Day against Patents Act

CPI(ML) held protests on March 28 against amendment in Patents Act. In New Delhi, Party activists burnt effigy of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Jantar-Mantar and held a protest meeting. The protesters strongly condemned the UPA govt. for the third amendment in Patents Act passed in Lok Sabha under WTO diktats changing the fundamental of process to product patents. They termed it as compromise on the question of national sovereignty and dignity as well as lives of our people and expressed determination to oppose it tooth and nail. "The support of the left parties, led by CPI(M), to this amendment which is going to be detrimental for the Indian economy, particularly in pharmaceutical and agriculture sectors, is most unfortunate.", agitators asserted.

They said that first making a farce of the employment guarantee scheme and then passing this Patents Amendment Act is clear cut betrayal, not only against people's mandate 2004 but also against the sustained struggle of left, democratic and patriotic forces all over the country through years against WTO regime. CPI(ML) calls upon all left, democratic and patriotic forces to rise against this historic betrayal and force the UPA govt. to withdraw this anti-people-anti-national legislation. The protest was led by Swapan Mukherjee, Rajendra Pratholi, and Lal Bahadur Singh.

Jal Hi Jeewan Hai !
(Water is life)
So Make a Good Profit out of It !

Even after 58 years of independence "potable water for all" proves to be an empty promise by the Indian rulers. Whatever areas are covered under various 'water supply schemes' including metros and national capital only tell the story of sheer negligence towards public health and amenities by the governments. Now the Congress ruled Delhi government has once again reminded us that it really means 'business' and that the common people are merely consumers under its monopoly. Already, in last December, the Delhi Jal Board levied on each household a fixed amount ranging from Rs. 40 to Rs. 150 per month resulting in a three-fold increase in the water bills in one stroke. And now, within three months it has again decided to impose exorbitant hike in water tariff w.e.f. April 1 (April fool to Delhites!). The existing charges of Rs. 5.20 for 10 kiloliters is now being hiked to Rs. 30; for consumption of 20-30 kiloliters one has to pay at rate of Rs. 7.50 per kiloliter in place of existing charges of Rs. 2.25 per kiloliter. In short, this suggests almost a ten-fold increase in the water bills. This cruel joke on an important vital issue of public life must be stopped.

America, Hands Off Asia !

American game-plan to equip Pakistan with F-16s can only be attributed to an added intervention to superimpose arms-race by sabotaging the ongoing efforts of developing mutual understanding, peace and friendship in the subcontinent. The US decision to sell F-16s to Pakistan has been an open secret for nearly a year despite formal protests by India. India must continue to oppose this move.

But, the matter does not end here. Talks are on to offer India F-18s, more powerful weapons of destruction. Not only that, the US bosses are making no secret of their sinister design to make India, like Turkey and Korea, act as an agent of the US in the region simultaneously discouraging any improvement of relations between India and Pakistan. Thus US tries to push India under a dangerous trap with increased US penetration in India's defence affairs. This is the essence of all big talks like 'strategic partnership', 'defence cooperation agreement', 'that America's goal is to help India become a major world power', and that 'America's decision to let India lead the way for the international community in handling countries like Nepal and Bangladesh', which Mrs. Condoleezza Rice is trying to communicate to us.

The sole objection on the part of the Indian govt. seems to be solely on the question of exclusion of Pakistan from the list of countries to be handled by India, not on the matter of further intensification of US' undue militarist intervention in the subcontinent and consequent damages to the ongoing peace and friendship efforts by the two countries and their people.

The CPI(ML) and the Indian people at large firmly opposes and will continue to oppose US hegemonists as well as Indian ruling classes' dangerous wishes to transform India into a sub/regional super-power. Party calls upon the left democratic parties, organisations and the people to press upon the Indian government to categorically oppose US' sinister designs to intensify dangerous arms-race in the region and lead the way for mutual cooperation, peace and friendship and towards making a strong anti-US bloc in the region. Foil the American designs to kill the Indo

OBITUARY

Comrade Raman Paswan was killed by RJD goons on 23 March in Bhojpur. He was Tarari Block Committee member of the Party. RJD goons also killed Comrade Kushdhar Paswan on 25 March. He was an active member of the Party.

Party expresses its condolences to the bereaved families of the killed comrades and pledges to avenge the ghastly killings by intensifying the resistance against feudal-kulak violence. Red Salute to Comrade Raman and Comrade Kushdhar !

CPI(ML) Greets CPI's 19th Congress

Com. A.B. Bardhan
General Secretary
Communist Party of India
Ajoy Bhavan
New Delhi

Dear Comrade A.B. Bardhan,

I am thankful to you for extending me an invitation to address the opening session of the 19th Party Congress of the CPI at Chandigarh. Unfortunately, owing to prior commitments it will not be possible for me to be present at Chandigarh at the time of your opening session. Let me therefore take this opportunity to convey through this letter our warm greetings to all the delegates and invitees present at your Congress, and our best wishes to our esteemed comrades and friends from the international communist and anti-imperialist movement.

In the last Lok Sabha elections held nearly a year ago, the people of India had handed out a resounding defeat to the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre. But instead of honouring the spirit of the manadate of the 2004 elections, the UPA government led by the Congress has been busy pursuing a course of betrayal and wavering not only on key issues of economic policy but also on the question of taking on the communal offensive of the BJP and the Sangh Parivar. The results of the recent Assembly elections in Bihar and Jharkhand and subsequent political developments clearly show that far from weakening the NDA, the Congress and the UPA have only been instrumental in giving a new lease of life to the NDA including an unexpected opportunity to retain power in Jharkhand.

Against this challenging backdrop, we will welcome any decision your Chandigarh Congress may take to strengthen the independent role and critical voice of the Left vis-à-vis the UPA government. As you know we attach great importance to the growth and assertion of the Left in all those areas where the communist movement is being systematically sought to be marginalised by a whole range of forces. We strongly believe that despite our programmatic and tactical differences, our two parties as well as other parties of the Left must be able to come closer and work together for the sake of strengthening the Left camp. You may remember that in our recent correspondence with you, we had also stressed the need for a united and independent intervention of the Left in the Assembly elections. We continue to uphold this spirit and look forward to a united and powerful resurgence of the communist movement in the country.

We wish the 19th Congress of the CPI every success.

With warm communist greetings,

Comradely yours,
Dipankar Bhattacharya

 

 Please offer your comments at : mlupdate@cpiml.org