Communist Party of India (Marxist) general secretary Prakash Karat on Wednesday said the Left, and not the Congress, could provide a credible alternative to right wing forces, such as Bharatiya Janata Party. He was addressing the Communist Party of India (CPI)’s 22nd party congress, which began here with CPI leader R.Nallakannu hoisting the flag in front of delegates from across the country.
“The Congress, which is responsible for a neo-liberal regime with its attendant corruption and looting of resources, cannot be the alternative. Only if there is a strong independent Left can there be a realignment of forces to put up a real alternative,” Mr. Karat said.
Stressing the need for strengthening the constituent parties of the Left, the CPI(M) leader expressed the hope that the party congress would address the task of how to build and strengthen the party.
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Earlier in his inaugural speech, CPI general secretary S. Sudhakar Reddy said the BJP-led government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi had been working overtime to surrender national interests to satisfy multi-national companies.
There was ‘match-fixing’ between BJP and Congress in implementing the neo-liberal policies.
All India Forward Bloc general secretary Debabrata Biswas, Revolutionist Socialist Party general secretary Abani Roy, CPI(ML) Dipankar Battacharrya and Socialist Unity Centre of India general secretary Provosh Ghosh greeted the congress and laid stress on the unity of Left parties.