Communist movement leader Puchalapalli Sundaraiah was for the ‘unity of the toilers’ which included the socially oppressed and in accordance with his ideology the Communist Party of India (Marxist) should try to integrate the aspirations of the dalits and weaker sections in its democratic and progressive movements, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury has said.
Addressing party activists and sympathisers at a meeting held by the Krishna district and Vijayawada committees to celebrate the birth centenary of the party founding member, Mr. Sitaram Yechury said that Sundaraiah did not write about the need for a ‘casteless society’, but it was understood. Sundaraiah had changed his name by removing the suffix that would identify him with a particular caste.
Social awareness and consciousness was growing among the dalits and others weaker sections, but some leaders were preventing further growth for their vested interests. As a result, the social oppressed were not joining the left and democratic movements.
There was a need for the Left parties to put the agenda of the dalits on their programmes, Mr. Sitaram said.
The CPI(M) leader, who had worked in close association with Sundaraiah for several years, said that another value that the founding father of the party had was honesty and integrity.
There was a tremendous need for the value of honesty and integrity in the present corrupt-ridden society. Such rampant corruption would not have been possible, but for the economic reforms that provided a perfect opportunity for it, Mr. Sitaram said empathically.
Mr. Sitaram said the CPI(M) was working for politics based on ideology, policies that would change the system.
Parties that polled lower percentage of votes had formed into an coalition to rule the country while the parties that had polled more were in the Opposition, he said.
The CPI(M) was not in the electoral process for power, but to ensure that the political parties came out with the proper policies.
‘Money to voters’
All except the Left parties were paying money to the voters and only the very rich were getting elected.
The charisma of the candidate, the caste, creed and money were being given precedence to the party policies, Mr. Sitaram said. The CPI(M) was going to change this tread by forging an alliance with parties that were giving precedence to policies, he said. City CPI(M) secretary Ch.Babu Rao and district secretary R. Raghu were on the dais.
