People's Democracy

IN the run-up to the 17th Tamil Nadu state conference of the CPI(M), to be held at Coimbatore from February 11 to 14, the round of district conferences is already on. The first such conference opened in Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district on December 19. The party has 34 district committees in the state, including the union territory of Pondicherry where the party unit comes under the Tamil Nadu state committee’s jurisdiction. This round of district conferences will go on till January 30. The last of these conferences will be held at Madurai; it will go on for three days from January 28.

In the first phase of party conferences in the state, which are almost over throughout the state, the branches as well as the taluk committees, area committees and local committees held their conferences with zeal and enthusiasm, with the active participation of over 85,000 party members. According to the CPI(M)’s Central Committee member N Varadarajan, it is clear from the reports reaching the state committee office that these conferences closely scrutinised the party cadres’ experience in their struggles on the people’s issues, in upholding the political line of the party, in implementing the agitation calls of the Central Committee, during four elections in Tamil Nadu (including the latest local body elections) and in all organisational activities conducted during the last three and a half years. Now that the series of district conferences is already on, those experiences will be summed up and taken to the coming state conference of the party. Most of the state secretariat members and other leaders are attending these district conferences to help in their effective conduct.

Meeting at Chennai on January 16-18, the CPI(M) state committee will finalise its report to be submitted to the conference. The report is based on the document the state secretariat had adopted in its meeting on December 14-15.

In the meantime, a meeting of the party activists and district leaders, held at Coimbatore on December 17, formed a 275-member reception committee for the successful conduct of the four-day state conference in February. Noted freedom fighter and leader of the working class movement for the last 50 years, K Ramani chairs the reception committee. Senior leaders like M Nanjappan, U K Velliangiri and K C Karunakaran are its vice presidents while district party secretary P R Natarajan is its secretary. The committee has decided to go to every household to collect money from the common people, however small the contribution is.

A huge rally will be taken out on February 14, the concluding day of the conference. It has been planned to mobilise tens of thousands of workers, peasants, youth, students, women and other sections of society for the rally. Art troupes and red volunteers will form part of the vanguard in the procession. Elaborate planning is on, with attention being paid to every small detail. Martyrs’ torches will be brought from Madurai, Venmani, Salem, Ponmalai and Chinniyampalayam, and will reach Coimbatore on the first day of the conference. The flagpole and the red flag will come from Trichy where the 16th conference had taken place. An exhibition depicting the history of the communist movement will be held on the site of the conference, and will be open for the public. A seminar on economic growth in the state, with special reference to industry and agriculture, is also planned. Academics and intellectuals of repute will participate in it. Throughout the city a number of cultural programmes will be conducted to highlight the policies and achievements of the party.

The recent struggles conducted by the party, along with other secular and democratic parties, against the increase in prices of essential commodities and services has definitely enhanced the image of the party. Its struggle against communalism, for protection of indigenous industries, for defending the public sector units, against globalisation, for realisation of potable water supply, health facilities and cheap but quality public education, etc, has been known to the people of the state. The CPI(M) effectively intervened for the above causes throughout this period. The general public of Coimbatore is looking forward to the 17th conference of the party, which is going to take place in this textile/industrial town after a long 33 years. The last state conference held here was in 1968, a few years after the party was reorganised in 1964.