People's Democracy

SERIOUS effort is on to disrupt the state unit of the CPI(M) in Punjab. The fact that the Polit Bureau has had to summarily expel Mangat Ram Pasla, member of the Central Committee, shows the gravity of the situation. Mangat Ram Pasla has been openly associating with the parallel activities of the disruptive elements after the last Central Committee meeting of the party held in end-October 2001.

Since then, Mangat Ram Pasla has been addressing parallel conferences organised by those who have been expelled from the party. It has culminated in a press conference addressed by him in which he has announced setting up of a parallel "state committee" and holding of a "state conference" a day before the party state conference is scheduled to begin on December 14.

The gross violation of party discipline and defiance of all party norms was meant to divide and destroy its organisational cohesion. It is to meet this situation that the Polit Bureau has evoked the extraordinary provision in the constitution of summary expulsion.

A question widely asked by the party ranks and well-wishers all over India is: why this disruption in Punjab?

The factional activities in Punjab have been going on for the past few years. The 16th congress of the party, held in 1998, had noted in its organisational report the acute factionalism which existed in the Punjab state unit. It called for tackling these harmful activities with patience and determination.

During the last state conference of the party in 1998, factionalism resulted in a sharp division among the delegates, and the state committee which was elected saw many who were associated with Mangat Ram Pasla being defeated. Instead of putting the unity of the party and adherence to discipline in the forefront, a section in the party refused to recognise the state committee and its authority. The Central Committee intervened in the matter and adopted a resolution which should have paved the way for eliminating factionalism and re-establishing party unity.

The Central Committee had called on the leadership to stop factional activities. It had also upheld the expulsion of Tarsem Jodhan, a former MLA from the party and called upon the entire party to isolate him. It had particularly warned a state committee member, Chandrasekhar, who was also the general secretary of the Punjab CITU, not to associate with Tarsem Jodhan and, as a party leader, help in the process of isolating him.

Chandrasekhar was suspended from the Punjab state committee for one year and given an opportunity to correct himself. However, he continued with his factional activities against the party state committee.

Instead of heeding the Central Committee's advice, Chandrasekhar continued to associate with Tarsem Jodhan and utilising his position in the CITU supported the anti-party activities of Jodhan. He even went to the extent of helping Jodhan capture the party state committee's jeep a few months ago. He was expelled from party membership by the state committee which was approved by the Cental Committee.

The Polit Bureau issued a letter to all party members in Punjab in March 2001 expressing serious concern about the factional situation and asking all party members to counter the disruptive activities.

Mangat Ram Pasla was repeatedly cautioned about associating with Tarsem Jodhan. Atleast on three occasions in the last two years he was warned by the Polit Bureau and asked to correct himself.

The situation in the Punjab unit of the party worsened in the last one year. All norms of party functioning were being brazenly violated. Mass organisations and trade unions were adversely affected due to petty factional reasons. As the party conferences approached, the parallel activities by the dissidents got intensified.

Things came to such a pass that in March this year, during a state committee meeting in the presence of the general secretary and two Polit Bureau members, nine state committee members walked out when their demand for a change in the agenda was not accepted. They boycotted the subsequent state committee meetings which led to their suspension from the state committee for one year. The Polit Bureau meting made another effort to resolve the problem. It entrusted the general secretary Surjeet to visit Punjab, meet all the concerned comrades, and submit a report. Those state committee members who boycotted the meeting spurned this effort. Mangat Ram Pasla, instead of helping to unify the party, continued his patronage and support to this group.

After the Central Committee meeting held in October, Surjeet, S Ramachandran Pillai and Prakash Karat went to attend the state committee meeting in November. Mangat Ram Pasla did not attend this meeting. He was occupied in organising parallel activities.

The disruptive elements are making all sorts of distorted claims. Firstly, they have accused the party leadership of having abandoned the 1964 programme. They say they stick to the 1964 party programme while the party leadership has deviated from this programme by updating it. They have claimed that an overwhelming majority of the party membership is with them, while the truth is that they have been able to rally and mislead only a small section of the party members. They have launched a vilification campaign against the general secretary. With the Polit Bureau and the Central Committee taking a firm position against the disruptive elements, many of these party members will realise their disruptive game and return to the fold.

In view of the forthcoming assembly elections in Punjab, the disruptive elements have been conducting a false campaign in the media that the state leadership of the party has decided to have an alliance with the Congress. The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) discussed the electoral tactics to be pursued in Punjab, earlier in September. It decided that our main aim should be the defeat of the Akali Dal-BJP alliance. While making this the main campaign platform, the party will not have an understanding with the Congress. This decision has been taken despite the fact that the CPI, with whom we had expected to have a united platform has arrived at an understanding with the Congress party.

The campaign to mislead the party members and sympathisers in Punjab by such false propaganda will not succeed. The state conference of the party, which will be held in Garhshankar from December 14 to 16 and the open rally to be held in this connection will provide a fitting rebuff to those who seek to weaken the CPI(M) in Punjab.