With the Modi government in power, the immediate challenge before the CPI(M) and other secular parties is “to tackle economic and social oppression, not just end caste and class divisions,” party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said here on Monday.
Mr. Yechury said this at an Opposition conclave called on the occasion of Socialist leader Madhu Limaye’s 95th birth anniversary to galvanise secular forces in the country against the current BJP-led NDA government.
He, however, warned that a coming together of political forces was not merely a matter of “arithmetic”, but needed to be based on a common world view.
Focus on ideology
Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, too, stressed that the debate must be focused on ideology. “The BJP has converted the ideological debate into one about development. But whose development is the BJP promoting? Does it mean that as investment increases, the Human Development Index falls?” Referring to the Gandhian and the Nehruvian brands of secularism, he cited the Mahatma’s favourite hymn, Raghupati Raghava Raja Ram and observed that “Perhaps, Gandhi’s secularism was more apt in the Indian context.”
The conclave’s first objective, leaders from parties belonging to three streams, Socialist, Communist and Congress stressed, was to ensure the election of a President who would be a guardian of the Constitution, not one who took inspiration from Nagpur.
“We must all unite, otherwise the country will perish,” said JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, highlighting the BJP government’s current failure in Kashmir.
Madhu Limaye’s son, Aniruddha Limaye, who is not a politician, said words like “secularism” had no meaning for the younger generation and needed to be recast in a fresh, new way; and if the object was to defeat the BJP, then the parties would have to begin anew with a new organisation and a much younger leadership. “It will take 10 years, not 10 weeks,” he said, adding, “that will be the biggest tribute to my father whom you have gathered to honour.”
