Kannur (Kerala): The 23rd CPI(M) party congress kick-started here Wednesday. Party general secretary Sitaram Yechury called for all secular democratic forces to come together to fight against the BJP. Inaugurating the conference, Sitaram Yechury also stressed on the importance of Left parties working together to meet the current challenges faced by the working class.
“In the present context, the working together of the Left parties to strengthen Left unity is of vital importance. This is needed to meet the current challenges being faced by the working people, the secular democratic republic of India and its Constitutional order,” Yechury said.
“The CPI(M) appeals to all Left, secular democratic forces to come together in order to isolate and defeat the BJP,” he said. The top CPI(M) leader added that all political parties that proclaim secularism must rise to the occasion to discharge this patriotic duty.
Yetchury also urged the Congress and other regional parties to ‘set their houses in order’. Then only they can ‘judge’ and decide on where they stand to safeguard the secular, democratic character of the Indian republic.
“Prevarications and compromising attitudes can only lead, as experience has shown, to an exodus from such parties towards the communal forces. Hindutva communalism can only be combated by championing uncompromising secularism,” the senior left leader pointed out.
Yetchury did not mince words against the saffron party. “The pursuit of the Hindutva agenda of the fascist RSS requires a unitary state structure negating the federal character of India,” he said.
The veteran leader accused the Centre of ‘thorough mismanagement’ of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the government imposed unprecedented misery on the people, leading to loss of lives.
Yetchury also claimed that the RSS and BJP have succeeded in creating a narrative of an overarching Hindutva identity among the people. “The sharpening of communal polarisation through the spread of hatred, poison and violence is polarising the Indian society. This sharpening of polarisation is RSS-BJP mainstay for political/electoral mobilisation,” Yechury said.
Welcoming the delegates and other party leaders, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said bewildered by the popular support of the Left government seen in the 2021 Assembly elections, the opponents, including sangh parivar are resorting to ‘mindless violence’.
“The BJP, which ran a high voltage campaign in Kerala, could not win a single seat and it lost its lone sitting seat in the last Assembly election. The vote share of the BJP came down from 15.01 per cent in 2016 to 12.47 per cent in 2021,” Vijayan noted.
Targetting the opposition parties, the Kerala CM said they were raising arguments that defy logic to stall the Silver Line project in the state. “Our government believes in developing infrastructure while ensuring justice through fair compensation to people who have to give up their homes,” Vijayan asserted.
According to the CPI(M), 811 delegates are participating in the conference, including 17 politbureau members, 78 central committee members, 640 delegates and 77 observers.