The Left parties have called for strengthening the unity among the Left and democratic forces, making it “vibrant united front” for tackling the fascist policies of the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The five Left parties - CPI, CPI (ML)-Liberation, All India Froward Bloc, Revolutionary Socialist Party and Socialist Unity Centre of India (C) - called for a wider, secular, democratic and Left platform which should include large sections of democratic people, intellectuals, minorities and Dalits to defeat the “fascist and communal policies” of the BJP. Leaders of these parties expressed concern that the Narendra Modi-led Central government was being allegedly controlled by the RSS and thus making the Left unity more essential than ever in the past during their fraternal address at the inaugural of the 22nd National Congress of the CPI (M) which got off here on Wednesday.
There was urgent need for further strengthening the Left unity as it has bigger responsibility of leading political battles to free the country from the “right reactionary communal government” which unleashed disaster through its “anti- people” economic policies and ensured a tilt in the independent foreign policy towards forming a US-Israel-India nexus. Misuse of power, political manipulations to capture power through Raj Bhavan in Goa, Manipur and Nagaland in addition to the unprecedented attacks on Left cadres and offices bore testimony for the Narendra Modi government turning out to be fascist. The Left bases in West Bengal, Tripura, Kerala and other States had become the target of the BJP and communal forces and these should be defended and expanded at all costs. Though the need for broader unity among the democratic forces was realised, the discourse on united fronts, however, revolved around the electoral seat sharing arrangements and common minimum programmes.
Communist Party of India general secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy was categorical in saying that relating the formation of the broader platform to this or that electoral battle could reduce its significance. Political parties were free to draw their electoral tactics when elections were due, but launching mass resistance to fascistic policies could not be delayed any more. “Of course, dislodging the RSS controlled BJP should be the focal point of these efforts,” he said.
CPI (ML) general secretary Deepankar Bhattacharya and others lamented that crime on Dalits and minorities, especially in the BJP-ruled States, increased significantly over the past four years while the crime against tribal women too was on the rise. “RSS is in direct control of the Modi government,” he said.
