KOLKATA: The CPI(M)’s main goal is “BJP hatao, Trinamool Congress hatao” (remove BJP, remove TMC) and to achieve it the party will adopt the required steps, party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said on Monday, again indicating an electoral adjustment with the Congress in West Bengal for the 2016 Assembly polls.
At the party’s third plenum in this state, delegates deliberated about the political situation in the country. Yechury stressed that the party organisation needed to be strengthened to oppose communalism which was the main danger at present in the country. “We need to oppose communalism and contain the RSS. For that we need to reach out to people who are not members of our trade unions, win over the students and youths and in particular the marginalised sections of the society,” he said.
During the brain-storming session of the CPI(M) which ruled West Bengal for 34 years the party leadership on Monday faced severe criticism from many of the 436 delegates from all over the country.
Former Lok Sabha MP and West Bengal state committee member Shamik Lahiri was scathing in his attack as he spoke about lack of “democratic centralism” within the party. Sources said that during his speech he felt the party organisation was falling apart like a “pack of cards” as a few leaders imposed their decisions on the lower committees without hearing out the cadres and as such there was only centralism but no democracy.
CPI(M) insiders felt that the plenum would witness a radical change in leadership as a large number of cadres all over the country had been demanding a younger leadership.
BJP Rubbishes cpm theory
The West Bengal BJP on Monday rubbished the CPI(M)’s theory of an alliance between the saffron party and the ruling Trinamool Congress in the state. Union MoS for Urban Development Babul Supriyo said, “The CPI(M) is running around without any sense... and hence some of its leaders were talking about a BJP-TMC alliance. There is no basis to such an allegation but the CPI(M) was touting it as it suits them.”