CPM asks Politburo to redraft official resolution, add points raised by Sitaram
Senior CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury has had his own way. With 35 of the 55 members who aired their views at the four-day Central Committee (CC) meeting backing him, the CPI(M) has asked its Politburo to redraft its official resolution considering the points that emerged in the brainstorming session which concluded on Wednesday. The CC asking the Politburo to accommodate the points mentioned in the alternative resolution introduced by dissenting members is considered an unprecedented step of the left party.
Differing with the official resolution, Yechury had moved an alternative one. It called for a review of the party’s decisions and approach in the last 10 years and exploring options of tie-ups and alliances with all secular parties outside the left umbrella to counter the surging BJP. The official resolution was for the review of the political and tactical line of the party since the 1978 Jalandhar Congress.
Yechury argued that the decisions since 1978 were not wrong and faulted the implementation of decisions in the past 10 years, thereby, pointing fingers at CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat himself. Karat has been at the helm of the party since 2005. Yechury’s resolution pinpointed the failure of implementation of the CPI(M)’s tactical line from 2004, including withdrawing support to the UPA and failure to form alliances with regional parties to counter the BJP.
The CC, after its long debate, decided to consider the points raised by Yechury. However, Karat, who addressed the media on Wednesday, downplayed the unprecedented developments in the party. “We are happy that after a long time media started writing about issues regarding the left. But I must say some observations on the infighting and serious differences inside the party were totally wrong. There was no alternative resolution. It was only notes regarding different viewpoints. You (media) wrote about two resolutions. There are total seven such notes.
Everyone in the party has full freedom to put forth their views and get them debated,” said Karat.
He said the CC, during the debate, listed out seven issues on the basis of which the draft political-tactical line would be revised. The final document would be placed before the Party Congress in April next year.
Karat declined to explain what these seven issues were that the CC asked the Politburo to re-consider. “That I can’t tell you. You will come to know when the party approves it,” Karat maintained.
Asked whether the CPI(M) would align with the Congress to fight the BJP, Karat said this was “not a matter of discussion in our party at all. We cannot have any alliance with the Congress anywhere in the country, including West Bengal”.
However, he said, “In the fight against the BJP Government or the danger of communalism led by the Hindutva forces, we will work with all secular forces. It is a question of mobilising the people. It has to be the broadest mobilisation of all secular, democratic forces to fight communalism.”
Regarding political and organisational issues, he said it was not just electoral reverses suffered by CPI(M) but “we also need to look into the issue of lack of sufficient growth of the party”. Karat said the next CC meeting would adopt the draft political resolution for the next three years and the draft review report of what went wrong in the past.
“The two reports (review and political line) will then be thrown open for discussion among our one million members and all suggestions, corrections or amendments would be placed before the Party Congress.”
Within a few months of the Congress in April next year, the party would hold a special session or a Plenum to discuss the organisation on the basis of the guidelines decided by the Congress.