There is an urgent need to set up “mass platforms” like those during the time of Emergency in the 1970s, said Sitaram Yechury, the general secretary of Communist party of India (Marxist). He was speaking at the end of the two-day State Committee meeting in Kolkata on Friday.
“What we now need is not really a political party coming together. We now require to set up these mass platforms — like the People’s Union for Civil Liberties [PUCL] or the People’s Union for Democratic Rights [PUDR], headed by many eminent juries and judges during the time of Emergency,” said Mr. Yechury. The situation in India was worse than it was during Emergency, he said. “It was declared Emergency [in 1975] through Constitution and this undeclared emergency outside Constitution.”
Arguing that “a complete metamorphosis of India is happening”, Mr. Yechury said the future battle will be between “Hindu nationalism versus Indian nationalism.”
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“Left has taken initiative of talking to others and we will see what fructifies, on the basis of which a broad people’s movement has to emerge,” he said. Even the Trinamool Congress can join if it comes as “part of the mass and not as one political party.”
On the dropping of four senior leaders from the State Secretariat, Mr Yechury said it was done in line with a policy adopted earlier. “Average age of population in the country is below 40 and thus CPI(M) [members’] average age cannot be above 50 and leadership’s age above 60... it is not a late realisation but the process of implementation of the policy got delayed due to various factors. Now it is being implemented throughout the country.”
Mr. Yechury said the celebration of 100 years of the Communist Party was “a major success.”
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“It was a huge gathering and it indicates tremendous support for us. However, the support is not converting to votes,” he added.