[Marxistindia] CC Communique

[news from the cpi(m)]

Press Communique

The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New
Delhi from March 28 to 30, 2018. It has issued the following statement:


Tripura Violence

The post-poll violence in Tripura by the RSS/BJP continues unabated
against the CPI(M) and the Left Front. Nearly a thousand Left cadres have
been physically targeted, 1699 houses have been ransacked and looted, over
450 shops burnt, over 800 Party offices have been attacked, looted and
some burnt down and 134 offices of Left mass organisations have been
captured and occupied by the BJP. Indiscriminate arrests and foisting of
false cases against the Left cadre continue.

The Central Committee expressed its solidarity with the Tripura unit and
the comrades heroically facing these attacks and called for a nationwide
solidarity against the RSS/BJP attacks on the CPI(M) and the Left
supporters in the state. The Central Committee called upon the concerned
authorities to uphold the law of the land instead of harassing and
intimidating Left supporters.


Communal Polarisation

Widespread communal disturbances are occurring in most districts of Bihar.
After the betrayal of the Mahagatbhandan by Nitish Kumar and the BJP being
in government, official patronage is being extended to such communal
polarization. Central ministers are playing an active role in creating
disturbances in various states across the country – Bihar, Bengal,
Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh etc. It is clear that after the severe drubbing
that the BJP received in recent by-elections it is intensifying the
sharpening of communal polarization by mounting such attacks against
religious minorities and the Dalits.

The communal disturbances in parts of West Bengal started with the violent
manner in which Ram Navami was sought to be celebrated by the RSS-led
organizations and BJP. A new feature since last year has been the open
display of arms. This is part of the vicious attempts at communal
polarization spearheaded by the Hindutva forces elsewhere in the country.

In Uttar Pradesh the BJP state government has decided to withdraw 131 riot
cases, thus, abosolving the RSS/BJP perpetrators of violence. This exposes
the victims of these riots to greater risks and uncertainties. Instead of
punishing those guilty of violating the law the BJP state government is
rewarding such criminals for sharpening communal polarization.

The CPI(M) Central Committee strongly condemns these efforts by the BJP
and calls upon the governments and the authorities to strictly uphold the
law and punish the guilty. Central ministers who are spreading hatred must
be brought to book.

Karnataka

The Central Committee discussed the political situation in the state of
Karnataka where elections to the state assembly have just been announced.
The Central Committee approved the list of CPI(M) candidates who would be
contesting the elections.

Kisan Struggles

Maharashtra: The long march of the kisans in Maharashtra organized by the
All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) had a nationwide impact. The Maharashtra
state government was forced to enter into a written agreement on various
demands raised by the struggle for the provision of remunerative prices
and pensions; implementation of the Forest Fights Act; loan waver for
indebted farmers etc.

This long march began on March 6 with around 25000 kisans. By the time it
reached Mumbai on March 12 the numbers had swelled to more than 50,000.

A positive highlight of this struggle was the sympathetic response it
evoked from all sections of the people in Maharashtra including Mumbai’s
elite. Many organisations voluntarily provided food, water, footwear and
medical assistance. The wide media coverage that the march received also
played a role in generating a sympathetic response.

Rajasthan: The kisan struggle in Rajasthan was met with severe repression
by the BJP state government. Large scale arrests and false cases were
foisted against our leaders. The state government had betrayed its promise
given to the kisans following the struggle of September 2017. In February
this year finally the government had to concede after the prolonged
struggle that paralysed the Shekawati region of Rajasthan and affected the
whole state.

CBSE: Question Paper Leak

Under the BJP rule various scams connected with exams have been
intermittently exposed. After the Vyapam and the SSC scam now another scam
involving the future of lakhs of students who appeared for Class X & XII
of the CBSE exams this year has come to light. The CBSE has admitted to
the leakage of question papers. This has affected the future of 16.38 lakh
students of Class X and 8 lakh students of Class XII.

The CBSE was headless for nearly two years. It is only in September 2017
that a CEO from Gujarat was appointed to this important body.

All those responsible for causing distress to these students need to be
identified and punished.

No Confidence Motion

For over two weeks now the Lok Sabha is being prevented from considering
the No Confidence Motion moved by the YSR Congress and the Telugu Desam.
The TDP withdrew from the NDA coalition on the BJPs refusal to grant
special status to AP that was promised. The YSR Congress distanced itself
from the BJP on this issue. The other opposition parties also moved
independent No Confidence motions. The CPI(M) has declared that it shall
highlight the all-round failure and evasion of parliamentary
accountability by the government during the course of the debate.

The BJP’s double standards in the conduct of the business in parliament
and its anti-democratic character is thoroughly exposed by the fact that
the same Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill permitting the government to
withdraw sums of money of nearly ten lakh crores of rupees from the
Consolidated Fund of India when the Lok Sabha was not in order and without
any debate in the din. Such is the manner in which parliamentary democracy
and accountability is being undermined.

Oppose the New Labour Laws

The Central Committee of the CPI(M) strongly condemns the decision of
introducing fix contract jobs all across the private sector. This will
rule out the future possibilities of any permanent employment and work
security for the working people. It will lead to the outright
contractualistaion of labour. Surreptitiously the hard-won rights of the
working class, the existing labour laws are being changed to further the
interests of foreign and Indian corporates. The Central Committee supports
the protest actions planned by the trade unions on this issue.

Finance Commission

The Central Committee demands the revising of the terms of reference of
the 15th Finance Commission that adversely affects the interests of the
southern states. The Finance Ministers of all southern states have already
raised this issue which must be seriously considered.

SC/ST Act Judgment

The judgement delivered by a Supreme Court bench diluting the provisions
of the Prevention of Atrocities (SC/ST) Act ignores the social reality of
caste oppression, harassment and caste atrocities perpetrated on Dalits on
a daily basis. This judgment makes the arrest and prosecution of those
accused under the Act almost impossible by removing restrictions on
getting anticipatory bail and that prosecution of a public servant can
only proceed further after obtaining sanction from higher authorities.
This judgment must be challenged by the Central Government moving a review
petition before a larger bench of the Supreme Court.

Breach of Privacy

The recent exposure of the use of data from social networking platforms
such as Facebook to influence voters has exposed the vulnerability of
democracy and an individual’s privacy. The sale of such data by Facebook
to be used to influence elections has now been revealed leading to a
public apology by the platform. The protection of privacy and data of
individual citizens must be urgently undertaken through the promulgation
of new laws. A legal structure has to be urgently created to protect the
privacy of individuals which is a fundamental right in our country.

The Election Commission must seriously reconsider in view of these
exposures its tie-up with Google and using the Facebook for its messaging.
The data that can be harnessed by these platforms and then outsourcing
them to influence elections for parties with money power undermines the
very essence of our democracy.

Serious charges have been levelled against the PMs app regarding the
collection and misuse of data of individuals.

A high level enquiry must be instituted to find out how such operations
have been conducted in India by the concerned companies and who the
clients were.

22nd Party Congress

The Central Committee discussed the draft Political-Organisational Report
presented by the Polit Bureau. This will now be presented to the 22nd
Congress to be held at Hyderabad from April 18 to 22, 2018.

The Central Committee also heard reports from the Telangana State
Committee about the preparations for the Congress.







(Hari Singh Kang)
For Central Committee Office