People's Democracy

ON behalf of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), I extend warm fraternal greetings to all the delegates assembled for the 19th congress of the Communist Party of India. Your congress will be followed by the holding of our Party congress from April 6.

Both these congresses are being held roughly a year after the defeat of the BJP-led government in the 2004 May Lok Sabha elections. For six years, India experienced rule by an avowedly communal and right reactionary government. The success in dislodging the BJP-led government was a victory for the Left, democratic and secular forces. Our two parties and the Left forces can legitimately claim to have played a consistent role in the defence of secularism, fighting back the attacks on the people’s livelihood and the pro-imperialist orientation of the Vajpayee government.

The new turn in the political situation after the Lok Sabha elections has led to the CPI(M), CPI, the Forward Bloc and the RSP working together closely. From the formation of the UPA government to the formulation of the Common Minimum Programme and in defining our attitude to the policies adopted by the government, the Left parties have strengthened their coordination and are working together.

The UPA government is a coalition headed by the Congress. The class character of the Congress leads it to pursue policies of liberalisation and privatisation. The struggle to implement the pro-people measures in the Common Minimum Programme is an important task for the Left parties which will also help to counter the class proclivities of the ruling coalition. As parties representing the interests of the working people, we will have to adopt an independent role, a role which requires opposition and resistance to policies which compromise national sovereignty, harm the interests of the working people and succumbs to the pressures of international finance capital.

In the coming days, the tasks are cut out for us. Firstly, the danger of the communal forces and their efforts to stage a comeback remain. The BJP-RSS combine will seek to utilise the discontent engendered by the bourgeois-landlord policies to regroup. The vantage points gained by the communal forces during the six years of BJP rule should not be underestimated. A relentless fight, both political and ideological, against Hindutva and the communal platform is called for.

The UPA government seems to believe that continuing with economic reforms "with a human face" is the panacea for the country’s problems. We do not share this approach. The entire course of liberalisation since the 1990s has shown an inhuman face whereby 10 per cent of the people have benefited at the expense of the rest.

The Left parties have the vital responsibility not only to project alternative policies but to struggle for them by rallying wider forces. The struggle for an independent foreign policy and the defence of national sovereignty assumes importance in a situation where US imperialism is aggressively intervening all around the globe. The plans to enlist India as a strategic junior partner in this quest for world hegemony must be resisted at all costs.

To accomplish these tasks successfully, Left unity is of paramount importance. Strengthening the Left and increasing its intervention is essential to utilise the favourable opportunities available at the present juncture. CPI(M)-CPI cooperation is at the heart of bringing about a higher level of Left unity. Our two parties share the common and glorious heritage of the communist movement which was born in the midst of the anti-imperialist struggle. We also had to separate because of the political and ideological differences which affected the strategic perspective over a period of time.

Communists in India must remain true to Marxism-Leninism and apply it creatively to Indian conditions. This is the way to resolve differences and strengthen the communist movement in the country.

We should strive for closer cooperation and coordination in the coming days. The experience of the last ten months of the UPA government shows the potentialities of such increased cooperation by which we have been able to project the Left positions more effectively. The mass organisations in which we function should coordinate their work so that they act as a lever for broader united struggles. The joint Left effort will enable us to rally other democratic forces which is necessary to build the Left and democratic alternative.

I wish your congress all success in its deliberations and look forward to our united endeavours in the coming days.