People's Democracy

KERALA STATE CONFERENCE  

Setting Agenda to Guide the Party in State

Pinarayi Vijayan

THE CPI(M) state conference has, in accordance with the direction of pointed out during the discussions on the work report, chalked out a future plan for the party. This future programme of action is devoted to strengthening the party organisation right from the unit level, and to attracting newer sections towards the movement for the sake of further expansion of the party organisation and its mass base.

As the party branches are closely associated with the people, the future programme lays utmost emphasis on effective performance of the party branches. Thus the conference decided to ensure that branches meet thrice a month, with one meeting to be convened in the presence of an area committee member. The other two meetings must be convened in the presence of local committee members; this has to be ensured by the concerned district committees. Proper guidance and intervention need to be made to recruit active sympathisers to the party, mass and class organisations and to retain them in the party. In order to expand and strengthen the class and mass organisations and to make their activities more effective, subcommittees and fraction committees must be made to function well. Hence the state conference decided to prepare a document to review the activities of class and mass organisations and to guide their future performance.

Efforts will be made to overcome the present weaknesses in the unorganised sector; required organisational activities are not taking place in this sector. Interventions will be made to uplift the living conditions of plantation workers. It was also decided to step in to organise the non-Keralite workers, guarantee their rights and oppose discriminations in determination of their wages. A long term, comprehensive plan will be chalked out to expand the party among the minorities.

During this period, the party’s influence among the tribal people was strengthened but necessary actions are to be made to spread this influence across the state. In tribal areas, powerful agitations will be organised, especially on the question of land. All the efforts to weaken the party’s influence among the scheduled caste people will be effectively countered. For this purpose, activities of the party among these sections will be intensified and the issues facing dalit people taken up. Necessary measures will be taken to expand the party among the fishing community and cadres will be deputed in all the areas where fishing workers live.

Reports on atrocities against on women are coming out frequently and women’s organisations are seriously responding to such outrageous offenses. Given the fact that such atrocities are a matter of public concern, the party will take up these issues directly. Conscious efforts are going on to enslave the new generations to alcohol and drugs in order to make them unresponsive and inactive on political issues. Powerful campaigns will be organised against the menace of increasing alcoholism. A broadbased movement will be organised by involving various sections.

In Kerala, for their nefarious ends, caste and communal forces are out to mislead the children. This poses serious threats to the secular legacy of the state. As against this backdrop, it is vital to form the Balasangham units in all areas. Along with casteism and communalism, superstitions and erroneous rituals are also spreading in society. Today it is extremely important to intervene and organise effective campaigns against this menace. The party has decided to effectively intervene and resist the ongoing efforts of the communal forces to take the popular festivals and gatherings over.

At present the rightist and communal forces are trying to dominate the cultural arena. So intervention on the cultural front assumes extreme significance today. Hence numerous seminars, cultural meets and programmes, symposiums and talks will be organised throughout the state. Literary and cultural luminaries will be invited for participation in debates and interactions. Functioning of the libraries and reading rooms will be made more effective; there will also be initiatives to set up new libraries. Annual festivals of the art and cultural institutions will be conducted regularly. While organising cultural programmes, due significance will be given to the local level programmes. Massive programmes will be organised during the coming Onam festival season. New clubs will be established wherever cultural and arts clubs are not there. Apart from this, sports competitions will be organised at the local level.

It is extremely significant to preserve public education in order to ensure educational progress of the downtrodden sections of society. The party will provide all support to the parent-teacher associations to enhance the quality of educational institutions.

In Kerala, the number of residential flats is enormously growing. The party will organise effective work among the families residing in flats. Party comrades will render all assistance to the residents associations. 

Rightwing forces are continuously organising maligning campaigns against the CPI(M), creating to an extent confusion among party sympathisers. As against this backdrop, the party will continuously organise meetings of the party sympathisers at the local level. Separate meetings of the middle class sections will also be organised and proper planning will be done to work among them. Area committees will take initiatives to convene the meetings of professionals close to the party. In order to resist the rightwing forces in the ideological field, a comprehensive programme will be chalked out to raise the level of consciousness of party members. Thus the party units at all levels will lay utmost stress on an expansion of the party. All party units will conduct a review every year in this regard.

In the present situation, given the population density in Kerala, it is important to ensure a waste free state with unpolluted environment, cleanliness and hygienic conditions. The party units will render all assistance for a waste free Kerala. The red volunteer corps too will be strengthened to intervene in the field of palliative care service. 

There are numerous factors that are favourable to the rightwing forces in Kerala. The conference identified some such factors and set the future programme to weaken them. While doing so, the party will also emphasise on organising consistent struggles on various demands of the people. The future programme adopted by the state conference thus aims to make the CPI(M) a movement with massive support from the population in Kerala.

The state conference adopted 30 resolutions which asserted its position and issued calls on various current issues. The resolution on the February 28 general strike was the first to be adopted by the conference which considered it as significant for the struggle against the neo-liberal policies and globalisation. The resolution exposed the UDF government’s policies that seek to sabotage the LDF government’s achievements. It also extended support to the ongoing agitations of nurses working in private hospitals.

In view of the great significance of strengthening the mass base of the party for realising its potentiality and ensuring its advancement, the conference said the party would not assume power through any dirty parliamentary plots, shortcuts or unethical means. It will unleash agitations against the globalisation regime and its present UDF advocates. However, while mounting such agitations, parliamentary methods may be used to fetch relief for the people. The party will make efforts to implement the directives issued by the state conference and render all support to all quarters who are interested in leading the state towards progress and prosperity.