People's Democracy

(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Vol. XXX

No. 13

March 26, 2006

CPI(M) CENTRAL COMMITTEE APPEAL TO THE ELECTORATE TO ENSURE

 

Seventh Consecutive Win in Bengal

Formation of a LDF Govt in Kerala

Increased Strength in Assam, TN & Pondicherry

 

ELECTIONS to the legislative assemblies of West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamilnadu and Pondicherry are going to be held in April and May 2006. In these elections, the people will decide who should form the state governments in these states.

 

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is playing a leading role in defence of the interests of the working people. It is in the forefront in the struggle against communal and divisive forces and the imperialist pressures to undermine our economic sovereignty.

 

The CPI(M) would like to place before the people of these states our Party’s understanding of the present political situation in the background of which these elections are being held.

 

The elections in West Bengal and Kerala have special significance for the CPI(M) as these two states are the strongest bases for the Communist and Left movement in the country. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, these two states returned the largest number of Left members of parliament which has enabled the CPI(M) and the Left to play an important role in national politics.

 

ROLE OF CPI(M) AND LEFT

 

In the present national situation, it is essential to strengthen the role of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Left parties. The UPA government at the centre has to depend on the support of the Left parties as it does not have a majority on its own in parliament. While extending support to the UPA government, the CPI(M) and the Left parties have been vigilant in defending the people’s interests. The record of the last two years have shown how the CPI(M) and the Left parties have worked. They have supported any step which the UPA government has taken which has met the commitment the government has made to the people in the Common Minimum Programme. Because of the intervention of the Left parties substantial and crucial changes were made to the Rural Employment Guarantee Act in favour of the people. The CPI(M) has played an important role in the scrapping of the black law Pota. It has supported the Right to Information Act.

 

The Left parties are continuously raising the demand that the pro-people measures in the Common Minimum Programme such as one-third reservation for women in legislatures and parliament; adoption of legislation for the unorganised sector workers; provision of adequate credit to farmers; increased expenditure on education and health etc. be implemented.

 

At the same time, the CPI(M) and the Left have intervened whenever the UPA government has taken steps which are against the interests of the people and the economic sovereignty of the country. It is this intervention which prevented the sale of shares of BHEL, a navaratna company and not allowing more FDI in the insurance, banking and other vital sectors. The CPI(M) and the Left parties resolutely opposed the foreign companies entering the retail trade. The CPI(M)’s intervention was crucial in ensuring important amendments to the Patents law while continuing our opposition to the unequal and exploitative WTO framework. The CPI(M) has prevented the passage of the Pension Regulatory Authority Bill which will privatise pension funds of government employees.

 

The CPI(M) will be vigilant in demanding that the government pursue an independent foreign policy and oppose the efforts of the United States to make India a junior partner to serve its strategic interests.

 

The CPI(M) and the Left parties played an important role in fighting the communal forces and the communal agenda being patronised by the previous BJP-led government at the centre. The strengthening of the CPI(M) and the Left’s role in national politics will help to defend the secular values and to counter the efforts of the communal forces.

 

The CPI(M) is committed to the upliftment of the minority communities and to fulfill their needs for education, employment and development The CPI(M) defends the democratic rights of the minorities while opposing minority communalism which is harmful for their interests.

 

The CPI(M) has resolutely opposed all forms of terrorist violence whether motivated by sectarian, religious, ethnic or ultra-Left considerations. Scores of cadres and workers of the CPI(M) have lost their lives due to terrorist violence in West Bengal, Tripura, Jammu & Kashmir and other places in defence of national unity and for unity among people belonging to different creeds and communities.

 

WEST BENGAL

 

It is in this national background that the assembly elections are being held. In West Bengal, the CPI(M) and the Left Front have established a unique record which has no parallel both within the country and internationally. From 1977, the Left Front has won six successive elections with a two-thirds majority every time. The Left Front government in West Bengal which has existed for 29 years symbolises the hopes and aspirations of the working people. It is the Left Front governments which have established the democratic rights of all sections of the people and created an atmosphere of communal amity. West Bengal under the Left Front rule is a fortress for the secular forces which has not been breached by the communal forces.

 

In implementing land reforms, providing security of tenure for the barghadars, for stimulating agricultural production and generating incomes for the rural people, West Bengal has shown that there is an alternative path to the current crisis in the agrarian economy in many parts of the country. Investment in industries and infrastructure is increasing steadily and West Bengal is once again becoming one of the industrially advanced states in the country. The rate of reduction in poverty has been the highest in India and the rate of infant mortality has also been reduced significantly. For two decades now, West Bengal has acquired the first position in agricultural production in the country.

 

The Left Front government has worked to see that all sections of the people including the religious and linguistic minorities get a fair deal in terms of education, employment and all-round development.

 

The central committee appeals to the people of West Bengal to extend their wholehearted support to the CPI(M) and the Left Front so that the Left Front is able to form the government for the seventh successive term.

 

The victory of the Left Front in West Bengal will ensure that the CPI(M) and the Left’s struggle for strengthening democracy, secularism and alternative economic policies is carried forward.

 

KERALA

 

In Kerala, the CPI(M) and the Left and Democratic Front are contesting the elections against the Congress-led United Democratic Front. The five years of UDF rule has been one of unremitting suffering for all sections of the people whether it be workers in traditional industries, small and medium farmers, agricultural workers, students, youth and women. The state has been marred by communal violence and enormous increase in criminal and mafia activities which has threatened the life and security of the people. The commercialisation of education has blighted the future of tens of thousands of students and their families. The UDF state government has abjectly failed to ensure all round development and has indulged in largescale corruption.

 

The CPI(M) and the LDF have vigorously fought against the anti-people policies of the UDF government. They have led innumerable struggles in defence of the rights of the working people, students, youth, women and the adivasi people.

 

In stark contrast to the UDF, the CPI(M) and the Left have been consistent practitioners of secular politics, giving no encouragement to caste and communal forces. The impact of imperialist globalisation and the policies of liberalisation and privatisation have caused havoc to Kerala’s agriculture, traditional industries and the social sector. Only the CPI(M) and the LDF can counter such policies. The CPI(M) and the LDF have set out the programme for ensuring the all-round development of Kerala and social justice to all sections of the people.

 

The victory of the CPI(M) and the Left and Democratic Front in Kerala will open the way for a new chapter in Kerala’s economic and social development. The victory of the CPI(M) and the Left-led forces in both West Bengal and Kerala will be a major contribution to project the Left and democratic platform all over the country. The formation of Left-led government will strengthen the struggle for a more federal set up in the country.  In the present juncture, the central government has been severely limiting the states financial resources. It is necessary to have state governments which will be forthright in defending the rights of states and against encroachment on their powers.

 

TAMILNADU & PONDICHERRY

 

In Tamilnadu, the CPI(M) has been opposing the authoritarian steps of the AIADMK government and fighting against its anti-working class policies. The AIADMK government has established a record for suppressing the opposition and democratic practices in the legislative assembly. It brazenly dismissed over a lakh of its own employees while unleashing repression on popular movements. The CPI(M) is cooperating with the DMK-led alliance to defeat the AIADMK and its allies so that a new government can be formed in the state. It is important that the CPI(M) and the Left are strengthened in the state assembly so that they can intervene to ensure that the new government fulfill its commitment to the people and adopt policies in the interests of the working people. The central committee appeals to the people of Tamilnadu to extend their support to all the candidates of the CPI(M) so that the Party can increase its representation in the assembly substantially. 

 

The central committee appeals to the people of Pondicherry to support the candidates of the CPI(M) so that the Party can get representation in the assembly to raise the voice of the working people.

 

ASSAM

 

In Assam, the Congress state government has failed on all fronts to address the problems of the people. Assam, a major state in the North East continues to be plagued by the problems of underdevelopment, unemployment and ethnic discord and terrorist violence. The CPI(M) is opposed to the Congress for its record of misrule. It will also fight the BJP which seeks to communalise the politics and society in Assam instead of dealing with the genuine problems of the people. The CPI(M) has put up 16 candidates for the assembly elections. It appeals to the people of Assam to support and vote for the CPI(M) candidates. The strengthening of the CPI(M) and the Left in Assam is of utmost importance if there has to be a democratic force advocating all-round development of Assam and the North East. It is only by strengthening the political platform of the CPI(M) and the Left that Assam can be lifted out of the morass of ethnic and sectarian divisions.

 

The central committee appeals to the people of West Bengal, Kerala, Assam, Tamilnadu and Pondicherry to wholeheartedly support the CPI(M), the Left parties and its allies in the forthcoming assembly elections.

 

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