KOCHI: Stating that the BJP government is pushing the “RSS fascist agenda relentlessly”, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Tuesday said the Left parties and other democratic forces in the country should join hands to isolate and defeat the saffron party. Yechury, however, did not mention the Congress, the principal foe of the CPM in Kerala, not even once in his nearly hour-long speech.
Inaugurating the CPM state conference at Kochi’s Marine Drive ground, he said the isolation of BJP should not happen only for electoral wins. The isolation has to happen based on very consistent and very strong political, ideological, organisational and cultural campaigns against the Hindutva agenda, he said.
“Our job is not just to protect the Constitution but also to stand against the forces that destroy the people’s living conditions, to strengthen the Left and the democratic forces through an alternative agenda, and the alternative policies have to be mounted against the ruling classes to isolate and defeat the BJP,” he said, adding that CPM must increase its independent and political interventional strengths to counter BJP in a meaningful way. “If we have to isolate the BJP, we have to increase our strength more than what it is today,” Yechury said.
In his speech, Yechury, however, did not mention not even once about the Congress, the principal opposition party in Kerala. This is significant as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and CPM in Kerala have been taking a public stand that the party is opposed to any kind of alliance with the Congress due to its “soft Hindutva stance”.
Praising the Kerala model, Yechury said while the BJP government at the Centre was “destroying the country’s unity and integrity, destroying the livelihood of the people and looting the country’s assets”, the south Indian state was showing an alternative to everything that the Centre was doing.
‘Photo-op evacuation’
Yechury said what’s happening now is a ‘photo-op evacuation’ when thousands of students are still stranded in the war-torn region. India has evacuated over a lakh during the Gulf War in 1990 and nearly 15,000 during Libyan crisis in 2011. Earlier, the 4-day CPM state conference began with the senior-most member of the CPM state secretariat Ananthalavattom Anandan hoisting the party red flag on Marine Drive ground in the morning.
‘Robust growth over last 4 yrs’
The CPM has gained on the organisational front over the last four years
Party membership increased to 5,23,378 from 4,63,472 at the last conference. There are 3,682 new branches and 121 new local committees
About 9.42% of party members are below 25 years. The party should take steps to increase the presence of those aged below 25. Though many students favour the party, it’s not reflected in the membership.
More focus on women membership. There are 1,04,093 woman members. Women are secretaries in 1,991 branches
In a resolution, the CPM urged the Union Government to ensure the safety of Indian students in Ukraine