POLITICAL RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY 18TH STATE CONFERENCE OF TN CPI(M)

Oust The Authoritarian And Anti-People AIADMK Govt

 A A Nainar

THE main political resolution adopted by the 18th state conference of the Tamil Nadu CPI(M) gave a clarion call to the people of the state to oust the anti-people Jayalalitha government from power in the next assembly elections which are due in 2006.

The list of the AIAIDMK government’s anti-people and authoritarian measures is indeed long. Immediately after assuming office in May 2001, it hiked user charges for electricity, transport and other essential services; invoked POTA to launch a witch-hunt against its political adversaries; passed legislation to ban religious conversions; withdrew bus pass facility to students and free electricity to rural peasantry. All in all it introduced a host of measures making life difficult for the common man. The government refused to hold discussion with the transport and electricity employees on the issue of their wages; deprived their annual bonus and suppressed their agitations. Continuing this authoritarian line, the state government in an unprecedented manner dismissed 1,71,000 government employees and teachers who went on a strike. Their right to strike was withdrawn, a measure supported by the BJP-led NDA regime at the centre, the Indian bourgeoisie and the Supreme Court itself.

It is in this background the people of the state decisively defeated the BJP and AIADMK in the 14th general elections, ensuring a clean sweep of 40 Lok Sabha seats for the opposition. Though the Jayalalitha government has pretended to show that it has changed after the electoral drubbing it received by effecting some cosmetic changes, the truth is that it has still not learnt any lesson. There is no tangible change in its character and outlook. In view of this, the CPI(M) state conference called upon the people of Tamil Nadu to defeat the anti-people regime in the ensuing state assembly elections.

The BJP and its front organisations in the state, though defeated, were trying to regroup and started raking up communally sensitive issues in order to gain political mileage. And they are targeting the CPI(M) and the Left in the pockets where they wield some influence. Attacks on the CPI(M) offices in Tiruppur by the Hindu Munnani are a case in point. The conference called upon the Party cadres to be vigilant and thwart such attempts of the Sangh Parivar by mobilising the secular minded people of the state.

The UPA government, without heeding to the wise counsel of the Left, is embarking on the same economic course pursued by the NDA. This is bound to make life miserable for the people of the country. Already certain measures taken by the government relating to taxation, privatisation, stock markets, WTO-related policies and foreign policy are tilted in favour of the exploiting classes and imperialist forces. Given this background, the conference called upon the Party members to mobilise the people and conduct mass movements pressing for implementation of the socially beneficial aspects of the Common Minimum Programme. These movements would also help in pressurising the government against the continuation of the retrograde and pernicious economic policies of the previous NDA regime.  The conference called upon all the democratic and secular forces of the state to rally behind the Party to fulfil these objectives.

The resolution was moved by T K Rengarajan, central committee member of the CPI(M) and seconded by A Soundararajan, state secretariat member. The delegates unanimously adopted the resolution with a standing ovation.

PARTY’S GROWTH TRAJECTORY

The political organisational work report placed by the Party state secretary, N Varadarajan gave a very graphical view of the work done since the last conference held in Coimbatore in February 2002. The report noted with satisfaction that the main objective of building a united resistance by the secular democratic forces against the communal BJP and the overthrow of the NDA government led by it were achieved.

In order to achieve this the Party had conducted a lot of movements, aligning mainly with the Left, and depending on the nature of issues with various combination of parties excepting the BJP and the AIADMK. The DMK, PMK and MDMK were until December 2003 part of the NDA. So, for nearly two years the Party took up movements independently on people’s issues, the question of foreign policy and communalism. When democracy was stifled inside the state assembly, the Party took the initiative and held a protest rally along with DMK and others. On the religious conversion ban issue the Party was able to mobilise all other parties to stage a united protest. Similarly, when the press freedom was under attack, the Party made all democratic parties, including the Congress, part of the resistance programme. While doing all these the CPI(M) very openly declined to adjust with the parties led by the DMK and declared that no continuous common platform is possible to fight the authoritarian state government unless those parties came out of the NDA.

While adopting this political line enough attention and care was taken for the growth of the Party and the class and mass organisations led by it. This period could see, though marginal, a growth of 4068 members bringing the total membership in the state to 94,845, excluding the 23,454 auxillary group members. The membership of the Party included 10,954 women – about 11.5 per cent. At the time of the last conference the percentage of women was 10.8. The total combined membership of the class organisations has gone up to 8.11 lakh. Though there is some decline in the membership in the organised sector, the CITU could register growth in the unorganised sector and service industries during this period which brought up their total to 2,14,942. The membership of the Kisan Sabha is 3,69,805 while the membership of the Agricultural Workers Union is 2,26,933. The mass organisations also registered significant growth during this period: DYFI - 7,68,108; AIDWA - 4,16,310; SFI - 1,36,099.

The Polit Bureau members, R Umanath, P Ramachandran and Prakash Karat who were present in the conference intervened effectively and gave valuable advice in their speeches. R Umanath referred to the monumental relief work done by the cadres in the tsunasmi-affected districts of Nagappattinam, Cuddalore, Nagercoil and in the union territory of Pondicherry. He referred to the sacrifices made by those who had lost their lives for the cause of the Party and wanted the cadres to imbibe those pristine qualities in order to enable the Party grow faster. He exhorted the leaders of the mass and class organisations to draw the militant cadres into the Party.

P Ramachandran lauded the wonderful unity in action manifested in the government employees and teachers strike of July 2003. He wanted the delegates to see the wood and not a tree while reviewing the movement and its gains. He referred to the economical, political and the ideological struggle a communist has to wage while building a revolutionary party. He wanted the delegates to realise the task of making all those Party members who had come into the party at various stages, as communists who can steadfastly carry forward the revolutionary movement.

Prakash Karat in his concluding address explained the Party’s attitude towards the UPA government at the centre, on the questions of Naxalite movements, reservation in private sector, NGOs and self-help groups, dalit issues and value added taxation (VAT) etc. He called for conducting of mass movements in the state demanding implementation of pro-people measures in the CMP.

Karat complimented the state Party for making special efforts to organise women in the state, which manifested in the level of deliberations of 16 women delegates who participated in the discussion and also in the women membership growth in the Party. He also noted the growth achieved by DYFI and SFI during this period. Karat was very critical regarding the failure of the leadership at various levels in paying enough attention for increasing the sale of the party organ Theekkathir.