People's Democracy
(Weekly
Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
No. 21
May 22, 2005
(Weekly
Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)
|
Vol.
XXIX
No. 21 May 22, 2005 |
The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New Delhi on May 14 and 15, 2005. It issued the following statement on May 16, 2005
THE
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemned the tactics adopted by the BJP of
boycotting the recently concluded session of parliament. The boycott extended
not only to the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha but to all the standing
committees. The BJP has displayed a high degree of cynicism and contempt for
parliamentary democracy since the constitution of the 14th Lok Sabha. Unable to
come to terms with the electoral mandate of May 2004, the BJP has indulged in
confrontationist tactics. As a result of its boycott, the rural employment
guarantee bill could not be taken up in the standing committee and adopted in
the current session of parliament. This has deprived the rural poor of an
important measure to sustain their livelihood. That the allies of the BJP were
not united in these negative tactics became evident when the TDP decided to
attend parliament after the three-day boycott. The allies of the BJP in the NDA
should realise that the people have disapproved of this one year of endless
boycotts.
The
aggressive posture of the BJP in parliament could not cover up the disarray
within the party leadership and the dissatisfaction expressed by the RSS about
its political front. The Gujarat pogroms continue to haunt the BJP. Sundar Singh
Bhandari, former governor of Gujarat and a senior BJP and RSS leader, has gone
on record criticising the role of the Modi government and the centre when the
violence broke out. He has underlined the need for a probe into why the
administration failed to curb the spreading violence.
In
Gujarat, the state government continues to cover up for those guilty of
perpetrating horrific crimes. The diary of a senior police official shows how
systematic efforts were made to aid and abet those directing the attacks. 61,000
people remain displaced even three years after the riots. Six serious cases
before the Supreme Court should be referred to the CBI. The government should
take immediate steps in this regard. The CBI should expedite the enquiry into
the serious cases of mass killings. The central government should take steps to
expedite the investigations and take up with the Supreme Court the need to
process the cases before it speedily.
The
Polit Bureau noted the report sent by its Rajasthan state committee on the
creation of communal tension and organised violence by the Sangh Parivar against
the minority community in Bhilwara in Rajasthan and demanded immediate action
against the culprits.
The
Comptroller and Auditor Generals report on the sale of Centaur Hotels has
clearly brought out the gross irregularities and favours shown to certain
parties when the sale of the two hotels were undertaken. The CPI(M) group in
parliament has been relentlessly demanding a full probe into this privatisation
deal. The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) welcomes the decision of the central
government to order an enquiry into the sales. There is another scandalous deal
in the sale of the ITDC hotel at Kovalam, Kerala’ which involved the sale of
65 acres of land which includes a state-owned guest house and other properties.
Action must be taken on this matter too. It is important that the responsibility
for these fraudulent deals are pinpointed and action taken so that, in future,
such racketeering in the sale of public assets does not take place.
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) reiterated its opposition to the Banking Regulation
(Amendment) Act Bill. The bill seeks to do away with the 10 per cent voting
rights cap for shareholders in private Indian banks. This is being done to
facilitate the take over of the Indian private banks by foreign banks who can
acquire upto 74 per cent share. There is no reason why the central government
should facilitate the take-over of Indian private banks by foreign banks through
such a measure.
The
Polit Bureau reiterated its opposition to the privatisation of pension funds
which will be facilitated by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development
Authority Bill.
The
Polit Bureau welcomed the passing of the Right to Information Act in the recent
session of parliament. The act should help citizens get information about the
way public funds are being spent and to make public servants and officials more
accountable. It wanted the government to introduce the Scheduled Tribes
(Recognition of Forest Rights) Bill in parliament without delay.
The
Polit Bureau noted that due to the intervention of the Left parties, the Special
Economic Zone Bill, which has been passed, has deleted those clauses which
exempt labour laws from being applicable to these zones.
Farmers
are suffering from heavy loss due to the steep fall in prices of chillies,
mustard, tea and other commodities. The central government should immediately
step in to set minimum support price and ensure procurement.
The
CPI(M) has conveyed to the government its opposition to the proposed hike in
prices of petroleum products. In the union budget, the excise duty proposals
have led to an increase of Rs 1.70 per litre for petrol and Rs 1.15 for diesel.
This despite the claim of the finance minister that excise duty proposals are
revenue neutral. The world prices being high, the government wants to make an
increase taking into account both the excise duty burden and the global prices.
The CPI(M) has submitted a note to the minister for petroleum explaining how to
meet this situation and prevent the burden being passed on to the consumer to
the maximum extent.
This
requires (a) change in the excise duty so that it does not lead to retail price
hike. (b) The 50 paise cess per litre on petrol and diesel for road construction
is an unnecessary burden over and above the current cess of Rs 1.50 per litre.
This should be cancelled. (c) The import parity in pricing of petroleum products
gives undue advantage to private refineries and this should be done away with.
(d) To meet the fluctuations in the international prices there should be a price
stabilisation fund. The fund collected through cess on indigenous crude
amounting to Rs 5,400 crore per annum can be used for this purpose.
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) strongly condemned the rising incidents of violence
against women and girl children.
The gang rape of a university student in Delhi, the custodial rape of a
young woman in a police chowki in Mumbai, the spate of sexual assaults against
minor girls are a matter of deep concern and indicate a serious degeneration of
social attitudes towards women. Very often, the police compound the problem by
refusing to take such crimes seriously. It is necessary to take stringent action
against the culprits and against police officials who did not take the necessary
steps. A big campaign is required by political parties, social and mass
organisations against crimes against women and for implementation of their
duties by governments and law enforcement agencies to prevent such crimes. The
CPI(M) calls upon its units to initiate such campaigns.
The
Polit Bureau condemned the gruesome attack on a women anganwadi supervisor in
Madhya Pradesh whose hands were cut off for her campaign against child marriage.
The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is not concerned about the situation as it
is the repository of reactionary and outmoded social values. Its ministers and
MLAs have patronised child marriages and instead of making the administration
accountable for such violations of children’s rights, it has held the
anganwadis responsible through an objectionable circular. While demanding the
withdrawal of the circular, the Polit Bureau demands firm action against those
who perpetrated this atrocity.
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) welcomed the outcome of the visit of the Chinese
prime minister, Wen Jiabao, to India. Both the countries have declared that they
are upgrading relations to the status of “strategic and cooperative
partnership.” An agreement on the political parameters and guiding principles
for the settlement of the India-China border question was adopted. The eleven
agreements signed during the visit augurs well for improving all-round ties with
China.
The
visit of Pakistan president Musharraf and the joint statement issued after talks
with the Indian prime minister has added momentum to improving relations between
the two countries and taking forward the bilateral dialogue.
The people to people contacts and confidence building measures have met
with a good response from the people of both sides.
The
prime minister’s visit to Indonesia on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of
the Bandung conference was also an occasion where India got the opportunity to
reaffirm its ties with African and Asian countries. The
visit of Dr Manmohan Singh to participate in the observance of the 60th
anniversary of the victory over fascism in Moscow has further strengthened the
close ties with Russia.
The
United States is trying to draw India closer through the Next Steps in the
Strategic Partnership (NSSP). It is holding out the promise of cooperation in
the sphere of civilian nuclear energy and has offered to sell F-16 and F-18
fighter planes. The UPA government must treat these offers with caution to see
whether they conform to national interests and requirements. The Polit Bureau
reiterated its opposition to India joining the joint Missile Defence System
proposed by the United States.
The
Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) criticised the UPA government for reversing its
decision to suspend the military supplies to the Nepalese armed forces. The King
of Nepal has suppressed democracy and has instituted an authoritarian regime.
The release of some political leaders and activists has not led to any
relaxation on the curbs on political activities. As far as large sections of
Nepalese people are concerned, the King does not have any legitimacy. The UPA
government should not be seen to be siding with the King against the democratic
and popular forces.
