Activists of Communist Party of India (CPI), CPI(Marxist), All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist) (SUCI) and various factions of the CPI(Marxist-Leninist) on Sunday protested across the country against U.S. President Barack Obama’s visit to India.
CPI National Secretary D. Raja told The Hindu that the Left condemns moves to reduce nuclear liability, renew the Indo-U.S. defence cooperation agreement, hike foreign stake in the insurance sector and strengthen ties with Israel - an ally of the US.
“Obama’s visit to India comes in the backdrop of these moves by our government under U.S. pressure to enforce their neo-liberal agenda. All Left forces oppose this,” he said.
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The CPI released its draft political resolution for the 22nd Party Congress to be held in March in Puducherry. It called for a reunification of all communist forces.
The draft also called for nuanced propaganda against communalism.
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“Actually, taking up only the issue of secularism will ultimately become complimentary to the BJP’s tactics of communal polarisation,” it said.
It called upon cadre to wage “valiant battles” on economic issues which alienate people from the State in order to achieve unity between Left and other democratic forces.
The CPI(M) split frrm the CPI in 1964, over the relationship with the Congress and Indian capitalists. In 1968, a radical faction of the CPI(M) split to later form the CPI(ML). Currently, the Left Front—of the CPI, CPI(M), AIFB and RSP—are in political coordination with the CPI(ML)-Liberation and the SUCI(C).
Besides the off-and-on talks of unity between the CPI and CPI(M) that routinely surface and sink, the RSP and AIFB also came close to a merger in 2010. Electorally however, the parties have often clashed-most prominently in Kerala where the RSP took the Congress’ support to defeat the CPI(M) during the previous Lok Sabha poll in Kollam.