People's Democracy

HELD at Vasco da Gama, Goa, on January 12-13, the 12th Goa state conference of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was attended by 30 delegates, representing 151 party members. CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M K Pandhe inaugurated the deliberations. The conference was also attended by Maharashtra state committee member Vivek Monteiro.

S S Naik presented the political-organisational report for the period 1998 to 2001. Apart from the main developments at the international and national levels, the report also dealt with the political situation in Goa. It was pointed out that during the 16 years long rule of the Maharashtravadi Gomantak Party (MGP) from 1963 to 1979, there was always a religious divide between the MGP and UGP, the two main political parties in the state. The MGP was mainly identified with the backward class Hindus while the UGP was an alliance of the Catholics and upper caste Hindus. Subsequently, with the UGP’s transformation into the Congress, and the merger of a section of the MGP into the Congress, the communal division did not remain so visible. However, the corrupt Congress administration from 1980 to 2000 paved the way for the BJP to pose as a clean political party while all along espousing majority communalism.

During the 1999 polls, in the wake of the anti-corruption backlash, many Christians too sided with the BJP. Though the BJP did not get a majority on its own, it resorted to mass-scale defections from the Congress and came to power in October 2000. However, its communal politics is alienating all the secular elements, even among the Hindus. But the Congress party is itself in disarray and not yet able to shed its past corrupt image. This has resulted in a situation where the BJP faces no viable challenge.

It is in this context that the report dealt at length with the CPI(M)’s activities and organisational position in Goa. Important steps have of course been taken towards a regrouping of the secular and democratic forces on a platform of mass organisations and in a coalition for peace and nuclear disarmament. Yet the party itself has generally, due to its organisational weaknesses, fallen short of the task of taking on the communal challenge.

Eleven comrades participated in the discussion and enriched the report with suggestions. The report was then unanimously adopted.

The conference also adopted the accounts and elected a new 11-member state organising committee with S S Naik as convenor. The conference also elected delegates to the 17th party congress to be held at Hyderabad.

The conference was greeted by Vivek Monteiro on behalf of the CPI(M)’s Maharashtra state committee. In his speech, Monteiro stressed on the need to strengthen the party activities and organisation in Goa in order to build up the strength of Left and democratic forces in the state.

In a rousing speech at the end, Pandhe summed up the deliberations and asked the entire party in Goa to overcome the various organisational weaknesses pinpointed at the conference in order to face the main challenge of defeating the communal forces.

The conference ended with the singing of the Internationale.