Coimbatore, April 3
The need of the hour is to immediately form a third alternative, which will be distinct and different from the present two main political combinations in the country, CPM general secretary Prakash Karat said here today.
Karat, who was re-elected general secretary of the party, was addressing the concluding session of the CPM’s 19th party congress here.
The party congress elected a 87-member central committee, which is the highest policy making body of the CPM, with 17 new members. The central committee elected a 15-member Politburo with three new faces, two from West Bengal and one from Kerala.
Two Marxist stalwarts — former general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu — were relieved from the Politburo on health grounds.
However, a vast majority of the delegates demanded that Basu remains in the advisory capacity and as such he was made a permanent invitee to the Politburo.
Karat said, “We need to develop an all-India movement for a Left and democratic alliance. Our party needs to surge ahead to unite all progressive and democratic forces and offer a third alternative to the people.”
Indirectly issuing a warning to the UPA, Karat said, “I will like to send a message to whosoever occupies power in Delhi after the next general elections. People of this country will not allow India to be converted into a junior ally of the US.”
The CPM general secretary was harsh toward the BJP and the RSS and said, “In recent days the RSS-BJP combine has been targeting our party and attacking our offices and killing our cadres and supporters. We have been most consistent in opposing communal forces and our party will go into battle against the RSS-BJP combine,” he said, urging party cadres not to take threats from communal forces lying down.
Karat said the party congress adopted a document on three Left-ruled states in the country and an entire day was spent on discussions on them.
Though there were differences about many aspects of the Left governments in states, Karat said, “It is a unique phenomenon that people repeatedly voted back our governments with more enthusiasm. The party congress document provides a framework to work in such a manner to fulfil our commitment to the people,” he added.
