Congress must decide its stand on Hindutva, says Yechury at CPI(M) meet
“The Congress must decide where it stands on Hindutva,” said CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury during the 23rd Party Congress at Kannur, in Kerala. Inaugurating the Party Congress, Yechury urged secular parties to come together to defeat the BJP.
“The Congress party, along with some other regional parties, must set their houses in order and decide where they stand to safeguard the secular, democratic character of the Indian republic. Prevarications and compromising attitudes can only lead, as experience has shown, to an exodus from such parties towards the communal forces. Hindutva communalism can only be combatted by championing uncompromising secularism,” said Yechury.
Alliance against the BJP
The Party Congress, which began on April 5, would discuss political strategies to build an alliance among Opposition parties in states where the BJP is in power. The Party Congress will discuss concrete steps needed to strengthen the struggle against Hindutva agenda, he said. “Isolating the RSS-BJP cannot be achieved only electorally but will have to be undertaken by conducting sustained efforts in the political, ideological, cultural and social spheres,” Yechury added.
It seems the CPI-M is more in favour of creating broader alliances with regional parties than being an ally of the Congress at the national level. Yechury asserted that the foremost task was to increase the strength of the CPI-M and its political intervention capacities. To achieve this, there is a need to strengthen unity among the Left parties and bring out an alternate political policy to challenge the right-wing Hindutva agenda of the present government.
The national leaders of Left parties took part in the inaugural session of the Congress and called for Left unity. D Raja (CPI), Manoj Bhattacharya (RSP), Debabratha Biswas (All India Forward Block) and Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML Liberation) were among those present at the session.
K-Rail project
The rift between the CPI-M and the Congress has been widening. With the Congress turning down invitations to participate in seminars organised by the CPI-M, the distance between the two parties is increasing. In Kerala, where the two are rivals, the Congress has been criticising the CPM-led LDF government projects, such as the K-Rail. However, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in his welcome speech categorically stated the state government is determined to execute such development projects. The LDF government, he said, is committed to “rapid development of infrastructure”.
“The opposition parties in the state are raising arguments which defy logic to stall this project. Our government believes in developing infrastructure while doing justice by ensuring fair compensation to people who will have to move out of their homes. Our party is organising mass campaigns to drive home this point. Economic growth, social justice, and protection of environment are being given equal importance while implementing projects by the state government,” Vijayan said.
The LDF’s prestigious K Rail project will be a hot topic of debate as many Left delegates from other States are not fully convinced about it. “We are not sure about the idea of rapid development. We should be able to explain to the people how such mega projects are different from the neo-liberal policies of the BJP,” said a delegate while talking to The Federal. On the other hand, many think that the Kerala Government should win the trust of the people on K Rail. A failure of the same would prove fatal to the party even in a state like Kerala, they feel.