People's Democracy

Political-Ideological Discussions Dominate

The Party Conferences In Bengal

  B Prasant

THE ongoing Party conferences being held across Bengal at the branch, local, and zonal levels have sharply focussed attention on political-ideological issues.  The conferences have seen discussion of such issues as the work of the Party while a Left Front government is in office, the further solidifying of the Party’s ideological and organisational unity, and the steps being initiated against unwarranted trends.  At no level has any bitterness been evident while initiating and carrying forward the discussions.  Anil Biswas, state secretary of the CPI(M), noted that preparations were in full swing for the district conferences and the state conferences of the Bengal unit of the CPI(M).

At the one-day meeting of the state unit held on November 26, Anil Biswas placed a report on the ongoing preparations for the state conference, and on the struggles and movements taking place in Bengal. Shyamal Chakraborti spoke on the resolution of the CPI(M) central committee on the relationship between the Party and the mass organisations.

Anil Biswas said addressing the state committee meeting that a great deal of success could be achieved while seeking to make the Party organisation stronger over the past three years. The rectification campaign is being conducted on the strength of this success. 

A perceptible increase in ideological standard is needed for Communist ideology and Communist morality to strike ever-deeper roots.  The task is an ongoing one.  An inevitable help in this regard are party publications, the circulation of which must be further increased.

Biswas said, while recalling that a resolution had been adopted at the last state conference on Left Front government and the tasks before the Party, that an adequate review must be made on the tasks accomplished. 

Priority must be attached to the working amongst the poorest sections of the society. The forces of reaction, separatism, and communalism always try to influence these sections of the people towards causing damage to the democratic movement. A political drive is necessary also to organise the unorganised workers.

Another area of priority is to strengthen the unity of the poor, the workers, the peasants, and other sections of the society against class enemies.  Deeper contact with the masses is necessary in this regard.  To ensure that the contacts flourish, mass organisations must play a crucial role.

References needed to be made to the resolution of the CPI(M) central committee in clarifying the nature of relationship between the Party and the mass organisations.  Emphasis must be attached to movements concerned with social issues and in organising the movements all sections of the people must be made to get involved.  The work remaining in the realm of land reforms must be forthwith completed.

Biswas commented that in organising the work of evaluating and assessing the task of implementing the stance of the Party over the past three years, the political aspect of the tasks undertaken was always very important.  An important issue on which light must be shed in this connection was an evaluation of the effort towards enhancing the level of political-ideological understanding of the committees.  Biswas said that stress must be attached to implementing properly the ways and means of augmenting the organisation.

The state committee of the CPI(M) has received reports that other than a few central branch units, branch conferences have been completed.  Around 60-70 per cent of the local committee conferences have been gone through.  More than 50 per cent of the zonal conferences, too, have been completed.  By November 30, branch and local level conferences would be successfully completed, Anil Biswas believed.

From December 10, district conferences will start. The state committee has decided that at the district conferences issues that would be attached priority would include discussion of documents adopted by the central committee and the state committee, establishment of ideological and organisational unity, the relationship between the Party and the LF government, and steps initiated against unwarranted trends over the past three years.  Discussion will also be held on the task of Party building.

The CPI(M) notes that in Bengal there are areas, which are very backward as far as development goes.  Poverty is rife there.  A section of separatist and adventurist elements are constantly engaged in the task of making the people of these regions go astray. These elements must be tackled politically. 

The LF government has prioritised the task of speeding up developmental work in these areas. The task of Party building among the masses of the regions must be undertaken. The state committee meeting has focussed attention on the importance of organising the Party among the poor, the workers, the kisans, and the lower income groups.

Anil Biswas noted that in the last state conference, a document entitled ‘The LF government and the Tasks’ was adopted.  The Party conferences need to discuss on a factual and analytical basis the extent to which the postulates of the document could be implemented.  The forthcoming state conference will see the placing of a review document on this earlier document. The state committee meting has outlined another document to be placed at the state conference that will focus attention to the problems and prospects of implementing land reforms. 

In the conferences held till date, reviews have been made on a comprehensive assessment of Party work undertaken.  New committees feature the youth and women. 

Answering questions at the Muzaffar Ahmad Bhavan later in the day before the media representatives, Anil Biswas said that the people would ignore the call for a bandh by the Trinamul Congress on December 3. On that day, the Disabled Persons’ Day, a vast rally of the disabled persons would be held in Kolkata, Biswas added.