People's Democracy

THE first state conference of the CPI(M) was held on January 1 and 2 in Dehradun. The open session of the conference was held on the first day in the forenoon in the auditorium of the local municipal corporation. The hall was packed with journalists, intellectuals, peasants, students and women who welcomed the Polit Bureau member Prakash Karat with the clapping of hands. All the streets leading to the municipal corporation auditorium were well decorated with the colourful banners and posters. Such posters were displayed at the district headquarters and other public places. Leaflets were also distributed in thousands as part of the preparations for the conference.

In his address to the conference Prakash Karat said that the CPI(M) follows democratic norms at all levels in deciding the policy matters and selecting the party leadership. He also stated that after thoroughly studying and debating the international, national and state-level political and economic conditions, the party will decide its policies and action plans for the next three years.

Prakash Karat remarked that the conference of the party was held in Uttarakhand at a time when the BJP is in power both at the centre and in the state. He asserted that the NDA government is essentially a BJP government which is shamelessly implementing the RSS agenda. It is well known that the BJP is a political front of the RSS. This government has undermined the prestige of the country by changing the foreign policy. Now this government is no better than a puppet of the US imperialism. The government has meekly surrendered to imperialism in respect of foreign, defence and economic policies.

In its 13 day rule earlier at the centre, the BJP government gave a guarantee of profits to Enron company which was surely an unpardonable crime against the country. The Enron experience has been quite unhappy from the point of view of the country as well as Maharashtra where this company charged Rs 7.80 per unit. Enron has now become bankrupt in the USA and has no credibility world over.

Commenting on the communal policy of the BJP, Prakash Karat remarked that this policy has adversely affected the educational institutions. He pointed out that the universities and research institutions are being packed with the RSS activists and the scientific content of the syllabi is being replaced by superstitions and mythical stories.

Pointing out the implications of liberalisation, he said, that this government is now prepared to sell almost every PSU at a throw away price. The government has already allowed 100 per cent indigenous private capital and 26 per cent foreign capital is defence undertakings. The agriculture sector is facing serious crisis on account of withdrawal of import duty on as many as 1429 commodities. This policy is being pursued at the behest of the WTO and has completely ruined the farmers. Hundreds of these farmers unable to withstand ruinous impact of these policies have committed suicide.

The BJP’s involvement in corruption is now too well known. The tehelka and coffin scam are the most obvious cases. The CAG report has pointed out that the money involved in the scandals is not less than Rs 2075 crore. Corruption is rampant in the states governed by the BJP. In one year the Uttaranchal government has surpassed other state governments in corruption.

Making reference to terrorist attack on September 11, in the USA, Prakash Karat stated that on the pretext of fighting terrorism the USA has now established its bases at strategic places in the Central Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The BJP-led government in India is also now keen to offer all facilities to the USA.

Karat explained how an attempt has been made by the capitalist world after the disintegration of the Soviet Union to prove that capitalism is the ideal social system. But the whole capitalist world, including the USA, Japan and Europe are facing economic crisis and it has been convincingly proved again that capitalism fails to ensure bread and butter to common people and employment, comfort and peace to all. Hence, socialism is the real alternative.

The delegates’ session was held in Agrawal Dharamshala. The locale of the conference was named after Comrade Nagendra Saklani who was shot dead by the police on January 11, 1948, on account of his participation in people’s struggle against the state of Tehri.

The conference began with the flag hoisting ceremony. Bachchi Ram Kanswal unfurled the party flag. Prakash Karat and the delegates offered floral tributes to the martyres’ column, Bachchi Ram Kanswal, Gangadhar Nautiyal and Indu Nautiyal were elected to the Presidium for conducting the proceedings of the conference. The delegates who came to participate in the conference represented the districts of Almora, Nainital, Pithoragarh, Udhamsingh Nagar, Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Pauri, Haridwar, Dehradun and Tehri.

The inaugural session began with the paying of homage to the communist leaders and the party workers who had passed away during the last three years. Tajwan delivered the welcome address.

Prakash Karat began his inaugural address by explaining the US attempts to create a polarised system at the various levels. However, the USA had to face opposition from different quarters. The US aggression on Afghanistan on the pretext of fighting terrorism after the incident of September 11 clearly shows that it has now become a serious threat to the United Nations and also to the sovereignty of free countries. The USA is now determined to attack all those countries which oppose its arbitrary acts. It is openly backing Israel against Palestine. The US intervention has also increased in our region and the government of India has facilitated American imperialist actions in this part of the world. Obviously this has now become a serious threat to the unity and integrity of the country.

The world is presently passing through a phase of depression and the developed countries are attempting to shift the burden of their economic crisis to poor countries. The third world countries are thus pressurised to open their economies to capital and trade flows. The finance capital nowhere adds to productivity. It can simply ruin the host country. Argentina and Turkey are presently facing the disastrous consequences of open door policy. People in the countries of eastern Europe and Russia have observed the disastrous consequences of reestablishing capitalism and they are now once again voting the former communists to power. This fact of history now convincingly proves that capitalism cannot be an alternative of socialism.

Prakash Karat asserted that the BJP government at the centre is fast communalising the Indian society, giving obscurantist orientation to education and allowing increasing attacks on minorities.

The congress endorsing the centre’s ruinous economic policies is attempting to take advantage of the deteriorating situation in the country. The country however needs an anti-BJP, non-congress front to represent the people. Karat reminded the delegates that for giving concrete shape to such a front the party must increase its activities independently of the activities of other parties. This would require greater attention to organisational work. Drawing attention of the delegates to a decline in ideological understanding of the party workers, he stressed the need to improve the quality of party cadre in terms of both commitment and consciousness. He nonetheless hoped that the party has a bright future in Uttarakhand.

After Prakash’s inaugural address, the state secretary Vijai Rawat presented his report which dealt with the political scenario in the state. The report referred to the misrule of the BJP government in the state. It stated that on the one hand, the government encouraged communalism and abandoned the policy of economic development on the other. The secretary’s report also referred to various movements which had taken place during the year against the BJP government during the year. The report highlighted how the state government has created conditions of insecurity for the religious and linguistic minorities and van gujars. The government has appointed administrators and postponed the panchayat elections. This obviously shows the anti-democratic face of the BJP.

The newly appointed chief minister has announced his resolve to involve the RSS workers in the assembly elections, which the BJP plans to contest on the plank of Ayodhya Ram temple. The BJP government has failed on all fronts. It has not even maintained law and order. Murders of humans and animal killings are every day affair. Forests have been virtually handed over to the bureaucrats and the process of handing over the control over the vast bio-regions to the World Bank/IMF has begun.

The report of the secretary clearly suggested that all the democratic and secular parties should constitute a front in the state which will in turn fight for the people’s cause. This will also emancipate the people of the state from the machinations of the big parties.

The report emphasised the need for setting up the state centre and making it viable. It was pointed out in the report that so for the state centre is not viable. The need for people’s movement was stressed for the growth of the party.

Resolutions were passed in the conference on land reforms, employment, struggles in the Gorkha community, communalism, economic policies, rehabilitation of displaced persons due to Tehri Dam and forest panchayat regulations 2001.

In all 36 delegates participated in the discussions on the report. The delegates generally endorsed the report and stressed the need for party education.

In the light of the discussion the state secretary’s report incorporated a thirteen point resolution on the party’s work in future, selection of party functionaries for running mass organisations and raising the funds for constructing a building to house the party office. It also pointedly mentioend the need for organising the local committees and holding schools for the branch secretaries. The secretary's’ report was finally adopted unanimously.

The credential committee’s report revealed that all the delegates to the conference were literates. Out of 36 delegates/ observers 28 were either women or belonged to minorities and linguistic minorities. 16 delegates are employed in rural bodies. Most of the members have joined the party after 1980.

A resolution to constitute a fifteen member state organisation committee was adopted unanimously. Vijai Rawat, Bachchi Ram Kanswal, Gangadhar Nautiyal, Surendra Sajwan, Indu Nautiyal, Rajendra Negi, Rajendra Jakhmola, Bharat Negi, Avtar Singh, Bhagwan Singh Rana, R P Joshi, Anant Akash and Virendra Bhandari were elected to the committee. Two memberships were kept vacant. Vijai Rawat was elected as the secretary and Kanswal, Gangadhar Nautiyal, Sajwan and Indu Nautiyal were made the members of the secretariat. For the Party Congress the three member delegation was elected.