The five-day CPI(M) Plenum which was held at Kolkota From 27 December to 31,2015, after a gap of 37 years to revamp the party organisation ended Thursday. The Plenum on organisation, convened as directed by the CPI(M) 21st Party Congress, held at Visakhapatnam last year.
CPI(M) Resolved to strengthen and streamline Party’s organisational
capacities to meet the current challenges by unleashing mightier peoples
struggles to develop the independent strength of Party in conformity
with party adopted political-tactical line. This line is aimed at changing
the correlation of class forces amongst the Indian people in favour of the
Left and Democratic Front, the precursor to the Peoples Democratic Front
and advance towards the successful culmination of the People?s Democratic
Revolution.
In order to accomplish this, the Plenum decided according party official media release said, To rapidly increase CPI(M) independent strength by adopting a mass
line and party intervention capacities, strengthen Left unity and to forge
the Left and Democratic Front not only as an electoral front but as a
fighting alliance of forces for an economic, social and political change
by isolating the reactionary ruling classes.
To effectively implement united front tactics to discharge the
dual tasks of unity and struggle by developing joint movements, enabling
us to approach sections of the exploited classes who currently are under
the influence of bourgeois parties.
To employ flexible tactics to deal with swift changes that may
occur in the political situation in accordance with our Political-Tactical
Line.
To set up joint platforms with various social movements, peoples
mobilizations and issue based movements.
To dovetail electoral tactics to the primacy of building the Left
and Democratic Front.
To strengthen class and mass struggles by:
1. Forging a broad front of agricultural workers, poor peasants, middle
peasants, rural workers in the non-farm sections, artisans and other
sections of the rural poor against the landlord-rural rich nexus.
2. Organising workers in key and strategic industries; organising contract
workers in both the organized and unorganized sectors; establishing
area-based organisations in coordination with between trade unions, youth,
women etc.
3. Organising the urban poor in the bastis/local areas; establishing
occupation based neighbourhood-mohallah-basti committees.
4. Strengthening work amongst the middle classes particularly ideological
work by the establishment of various fora like citizens forums, platforms
to promote cultural activities/actions; scientific temper and others
related to their life and work. Strengthening work in residential
associations, pensioners associations and professional bodies.
Through these methods, the Plenum decided that the CPI(M) must:
Strengthen links with the Indian people to empower ourselves
to unleash mightier mass and class struggles.
Effectively adopt and implement the mass line of the Party to
ensure the establishment of such live links with the people.
Focus on advancing the Agrarian Revolution, the axis of the
Democratic revolution, by forging unity in struggles of all rural
exploited sections of people.
Strengthen efforts to develop the worker-peasant alliance.Focus mainly on
1. Forging class and mass struggles on economic and social issues to widen
the Party?s influence and to rally the Left and democratic forces.
2. Adopting a mass line and establish live links with the people.
3. Streamlining the organisation to build a revolutionary Party with
quality membership of high quality.
4. Making special efforts to attract youth to the Party.
5. Waging the ideological struggle against communalism, neo-liberalism and
reactionary ideologies.
The Plenum also decided that:All these tasks must be implemented in a time-bound manner beginning from
the Party C.C. Centre. State Committees must concretise such time-bound
implementation plans and review them in a year time.
The Plenum redoubled the CPI(M)?s resolve by stating:
No social transformation is possible, in fact, cannot be conceived
without the vast mass of people belonging to all exploited classes rising
in revolt against the exploiting ruling classes. In the final analysis it
is the people who make history. Revolutionary history is no exception. A
revolutionary Party, the CPI(M), must emerge as the vanguard of this
peoples upsurge. This is our historic responsibility.
Let us redouble our resolve, at this plenum, to advance towards
discharging this responsibility!
Forward towards a stronger CPI(M) with an all India mass base!
Forward towards a revolutionary Party with a Mass Line!
With the unanimous adoption of the Report on Organisation and the
Resolution on Organisation, the Plenum on Organisation came to a
successful conclusion On Thursday.
A total of 191 amendments and suggestions were received to the Draft
Report on Organisation, of which 36 were accepted. There were 73
amendments and suggestions to the Draft Resolution on Organisation, of
which 6 were accepted.
Polit Bureau Member Prakash Karat replied to the discussion on the Draft
Report on Organisation while General Secretary Sitaram Yechury replied to
the discussion on the Draft Resolution on Organisation.
On behalf of the Plenum, Chairperson of the Presidium, Manik Sarkar
thanked the West Bengal State Committee and through it the entire
membership of the Party in West Bengal for the excellent arrangements that
were made for the success of the Plenum.
The second day of the CPI(M) Plenum on Organisation began at the
Promode Dasgupta Bhawan 28th morning at 11.00 a.m. with the introduction
of the Draft Resolution on Organisation by General Secretary Sitaram
Yechury.
The draft lays down the need to strengthen and streamline the Party organisational capacities to meet the current challenges by unleashing
mightier peoples struggles to develop the independent strength of the
Party in conformity with the political-tactical line adopted at the 21st
Congress of the Party. The Congress held at Vishakapattanam in April 2015,
had laid stress on forging the Left and Democratic Front.
The Draft Resolution underlined the imperative to vastly develop the
organisational capacities of the Party to enable it to accomplish these
revolutionary objectives and emerge as the political party of the vast
majority of the exploited classes in the objective situation of the world
capitalist crisis and intensified exploitation. Domestically, the CPI(M)
has an alternative policy framework which will enable the Indian people
to realise their inherent potential and create a better India on that
basis. As also because, the CPI(M) is the only political party that
offers the Indian youth a vision of a better future. which puts forward
alternative policies to marshal our country resources to provide our
youth with quality education, good health and sustainable employment.
Sitaram Yechury underscored the fact that the CPI(M) is a consistent
political force that advocates and struggles for the unity of
multi-religious, multi-lingual, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic population
against all efforts at sharpening communal polarisation and thwarting the
RSS/BJP designs to impose their project of a rabidly intolerant fascistic
Hindu Rashtra.
Towards achieveing these tasks the Draft calls upon the Party to take up
social issues in a big way, while simultaneously taking up the issues of
economic exploitation and social oppression the two feet upon which
stands the advance of class struggles in India. Among the social issues
identified for taking up by the entire Party are the championing the
struggle against gender oppression, discrimination against the dalits,
tribals, disabled and religious minorities.
The draft also outlines the various methods that need to be employed to
expand the influence of the Party and strengthening the Party organization
as its vision can only be materailised if the organisational capacities of
the Party are strengthened enormously.
A total of 62 delegates participated in the discussion over three days.
,
Observe the Centenary Year of the Great October Socialist Revolution
A separate resolution to Observe the Centenary Year of the Great October
Socialist Revolution? was also moved in the morning session. The resolution was moved by M.A. Baby and was seconded by R. Arun Kumar.
Commemorate the Centenary Year of the Great October Socialist Revolution
This Plenum on Organisation reiterates with emphasis our 21st Congress
resolution on the centenary of the Russian revolution that called for
‘celebrations to commemorate the centenary year in all-round way’,
beginning November 7, 2016 by organising events ‘in the political,
ideological, and cultural spheres’, and ‘to conduct a campaign to
propagate socialism’.
The Great October Revolution had for the first time in human history,
resoundingly vindicated Marxism-Leninism through the establishment of a
proletarian State. Led by the immortal Lenin and the Bolshevik party, it
has proved that the exploitative capitalist order can be overthrown by the
working class led mass of the exploited people and vindicated the analysis
of Marx. The October Revolution is an eternal example of the application
of the creative science of Marxism-Leninism, whose living essence is the
‘concrete analysis of the concrete conditions’.
The October Revolution continues to teach many important lessons to the
world communist movement ? the importance of worker-peasant alliance, the
indispensable role of the vanguard Party steeled on the principles of
democratic centralism, proletarian discipline and having live links with
the masses that remain valid.
The October Revolution has immense achievements to its credit. It
eliminated exploitation of man by man by establishing socialism in the
USSR; guaranteed satisfaction of all the basic necessities of human beings
food, clothing and shelter; enriched and enhanced human life by taking
care of all citizens from cradle to grave; for the first time in human
history. It completely eliminated illiteracy and ensured universal access
to education; freed women from domestic chores to a large extent and
ensured equal rights. It in fact gave women equal participation in the
political process well before many capitalist countries had done and thus
enabled them to play an active role in the economic and social development
of the society. It secured the rights of the working class, involved them
in administration, improved their work conditions, ensured sufficient
leisure and guaranteed their post-retirement future. It eliminated
unemployment and poverty. It encouraged scientific research and innovation
for the welfare of the entire society, guaranteed advanced universal
health care and made great advances in the field of sports.
This Plenum, while resolving to propagate these and many more achievements
of the first socialist State, is conscious of the many mistakes committed
during socialist construction. The Party will continue to learn from them.
The observance of this event assumes all the more importance today, when
there is an intense attack on the validity of Marxism and on the very
concept of socialism. In many East European countries, attempts are on to
ban communist parties and even the usage of communist and Soviet-era
symbols. There is a deliberate attempt to falsify history, negate the
myriad achievements of the former socialist countries and even equate
socialism with fascism and Nazism.
It is upon us, as adherents of Marxism-Leninism, to use this occasion to
counter this slanderous campaign and re-assert that socialism is the only
path ahead for humankind that ensures a world free of exploitation,
oppression, environmental degradation and guarantees real freedom and
liberty. It is upon us to establish that socialism is not a utopian dream,
but a necessity that has to be realised.
This Organisational Plenum of the CPI(M) resolves to observe the centenary
year of the Great October Socialist Revolution to not only educate its
entire rank and file, but also engage the people at large by involving all
the intellectuals, littrateurs, sympathisers and well-wishers of the Left
by organising debates, discussions, seminars, symposiums, exhibitions and
various other forms all across India, highlighting the contribution of the
Great October Socialist Revolution in:
influencing the Indian national movement by inspiring generations of
freedom fighters like Bhagat Singh, Jawaharalal Nehru, Muzaffar Ahmed, and
many others; nationalist poets like Rabindranath Tagore Subrahmanyam
Bharati, Nazrul Islam and social activists like Periyar and others; its
impact on the masses and the consciousness levels of many young freedom
fighters who were influenced by its ideology that led them to the
Communist Party and to the formation of various mass and class
organisations, galvanising the socialist current in the freedom struggle;
defeating fascism, signaled by the hosting of the Red Flag over
Reichstag on May 9, 1945 by the soldiers of the Red Army of the USSR and
thus contributing to the sustained peace in the world; bringing an end to the colonial world by openly siding with the various
liberation movements across the world that eventually led to the freedom
of various countries in Asia and Africa and in standing as a bulwark
against imperialist aggression and attempts to trample upon national
sovereignty through neo-colonialism;
furthering the frontiers of science and technology, particularly by
successfully sending the first artificial satellite, Sputnik and first
human being Yuri Gagarin into space, which paved the way for the
subsequent development of modern means of communication satellites,
opening up possibilities for an in-depth study of earth, its surrounding
atmosphere and in many other areas;
developing peoples’ culture in contrast to the pursuit of culture as a
preserve of the elite, as can be discerned in various performing arts,
songs, music, drama, cinema, painting, literature, etc;
On the 7th November 2017, throughout the country, the culmination of the
observance of the centenary of the October Revolution should be done by
rallying people in large numbers to expose the danger of communal,
reactionary, divisive and separatist ideologies, by safeguarding and
advancing the unity of the toiling classes centered on the core of
worker-peasant alliance. The occasion should be used to propagate the
ideals of socialism and its necessity, particularly among the Indian
youth, at this juncture.
This Plenum resolves to observe the 100th Anniversary of the Great October
Socialist Revolution in a befitting manner, reiterating its commitment to
Marxism-Leninism and its profound belief that the future of humanity and
the world lies only in socialism.
Situation in West Bengal
This Plenum of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) notes with concern
the grave situation in West Bengal. The last four and a half year misrule
has totally discredited both the Trinamul Congress and the government
headed by it. Large scale resort to terror tactics, attacks on all
sections of people including atrocities on dalits and tribals, alarming
increase in sexual assaults on women, monumental corruption including the
chit fund scams, rampant misuse of government machinery for partisan ends,
abject failure to deliver on promises made during the elections etc have
utterly exposed the real face of the ruling party leading to a strong
discontent against it.
Its image having been severely dented and its political credibility at an
all time low, the Trinamul Congress is resorting to manipulative tactics
including whipping up of minority passions. It is doing so to regain lost
ground, with Assembly elections round the corner. In one way or the other,
the TMC continues to pander to fundamentalist forces to polarize voters.
This has created a fertile ground for fissiparous forces to thrive. Though
a tacit understanding with the central BJP leadership is actively
underway, the TMC has been implicitly encouraging minority fundamentalism
hoping to harvest votes in its favour. This has worsened the communal
divide in the state. Notorious criminals are being mobilized with the open
support of the police and the administration.
Under the short period of TMC rule, the economy has turned into doldrums
and industry into tatters. Peasant distress has reached alarming
proportions. There is an all out attack on the livelihood of the toiling
people and social security. Groaning unemployment, loss of jobs and total
anarchy in the health and education sectors has created an unbearable
situation. Added to this is the criminal indifference of the TMC
government to the continuing starvation deaths of the closed tea garden
workers and the 134 peasant suicides so far.
Displaying its utter contempt for democracy, the ruling party resorted to
loot of votes unleashing indiscriminate terror during the municipal
elections held in April and October this year. Even journalists from the
mainstream media were not spared from attacks. The fascistic terror of the
TMC in collusion with the police and hoodlums is continuing unabated. The
leaders of the Left Front, Left MLAs, the other opposition leaders and
even the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Surjya Kanta Mishra had
to face violent attacks of the organized gangsterism indulged in by the
ruling party. Normal political activity is being undermined by the
draconian measures taken by the TMC government. Recently, even the
Calcutta High Court was compelled to comment that the ?law and order
situation has collapsed? in the state.
So far 171 Left Front supporters including 164 CPI(M) cadres and leaders
have been mercilessly killed by the TMC goons. The perpetrators of these
heinous crimes are roaming freely with the full knowledge of the police
and the administration. Countless number of cases of extortion and
forcible occupation of properties of the common people has been reported
in the media. Apart from the over one lakh Left cadres and supporters
facing many forms of persecution, the intensive terror has been extended
to people from all walks of life. This is further exposing the ruling
party in the eyes of the common people.
The sustained movement that our Party and the Left is conducting is
drawing increasing support from the people. This campaign and movement
will be intensified from January 2016, immediately after the Plenum.
This Plenum of the CPI(M) salutes the heroic resistance movement by the
people of West Bengal against the unprecedented terror and in defence of
democracy and secularism. The plenum welcomes the determination of the
Left and democratic forces to work for the defeat of the authoritarian
rule of the Trinamul Congress as also further isolating the dangerous
communal forces led by the BJP.
Resolution on Tripura
Tripura, a small state in north-east, has evolved into an exemplary
dynamic developing state under the Left Front government. With its
pro-people policies, Left Front government has not only developed the
quality of life of the people of the state, but also showed what
alternative policies can be pursued even with limited resources.
Tripura has had a Left Front government since 1978. In the first two terms
of the Left Front government, there were two particularly major
achievements: the implementation of land reforms and the setting up of the
Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council under the sixth schedule
of the constitution which empowered the tribal people. The break during
1988-93 after a rigged election and a period of semi-fascist terror, Left
Front has come back and won all subsequent elections with greater
confidence expressed by the people. The last 22 years have witnessed
remarkable development of the state.
Tripura has become a model for combating extremism and terrorism. Once
mutilated by extremist violence, financed and promoted by imperialist
agencies, Tripura has emerged an example of unity of the people and peace.
This has been achieved not merely by administrative determination alone,
but also with political mobilization of people and development activities
in the tribal areas in particular.
Deepening political democracy, with decentralized municipalities,
panchayats, village committees in ADC area, has contributed to the
enthusiastic participation of the people in development activities.
The record of the Left Front government in many areas of development,
particularly in human development is no less than outstanding. The
literacy rate in the state has reached to 97 per cent, among the highest
in the country. The female literacy rate is 95.71 per cent. With huge
expansion of school education, free text books, free studies up to college
level Tripura has virtually universalized education upto secondary stage.
Other Human Development indices reflect people?s the better quality of
life. Infant Mortality Rate in Tripura is 26 while the all-India average
is 40. Birth rate in the state is 13.7 per cent while it is 21.4 per cent
all-India, death rate has come down to 4.7 per cent while the national
average is 7.0 per cent. All these have been achieved despite backward
infrastructure and complex geography of the state.
Tripura has achieved food security with all families covered under PDS.
While majority of the population is being provided rice at Rs 2 per kg,
all other families are provided rice at APL rate.
Agriculture, forestry, fisheries, plantation and handicrafts have received
tremendous boost with multifarious projects of the state government. Along
with this, Tripura has retained its top position in implementing MNREGA .
In 20123-14, average man days in Tripura were 88 while all India average
was 46. In 2014-15, the average man days in Tripura was 88 again, while
all India average has come down to 38 only. In a first of its kind, people
belonging to BPL families in urban area are provided wage employment for
at least 75 days a year. Tripura also tops in giving land rights under
Forest Right Act. 124541 persons have been given land pattas , of whom 99
per cent are tribals.
Despite severe difficulties, the Left Front government has taken long
strides in infrastructural development. More than 90 per cent of the
total of 8,312 habitations is electrified. More than 95 per cent of
irrigatable land has been brought under irrigation facilities. Road
network has reached to remote areas making communications far more
smoother than ever imagined.
In the face of neo liberal attacks on peoples? livelihood and scarce
resources, the Left Front government has stood beside the poor workers of
unorganized sector and the needy and vastly expanded social security. In
Tripura, state government is administering 27 pension schemes including
those for female domestic workers, disabled, widows, deserted women,
rickshaw pullers, barbers, fishermen. It has also provided pension scheme
for transgender persons, AIDS affected persons. Several development
schemes are being implemented for SCs, OBCs and Muslim minorities.
Number of women elected is a high 57 per cent in the local bodies which
is a reflection of women?s increased participation in all spheres of
public life.
The sustained and planned efforts by the Left Front government has
provided the youth of the state with better opportunities for education
and employment, generating a visible new hope and pride among them.
Left Front government, conscious of the fact that it is working within the
limitations of all-India pro-corporate policies, unequal federal structure
and financial constraints, has tried to provide and project alternative
policies. CPI(M), in its effort to provide pro-people alternative
policies for a better India hails the initiatives of Left Front government
in Tripura as inspiring.
There is no room for complacency. Reactionary forces within and outside
Tripura are out to create trouble through disturbing the tribal and
non-tribal unity which is the bedrock of Tripura?s outstanding
advancement. Therefore, there is need of vigilance through mobilisation
of masses to prevent any sort of conspiracy.
The people of Tripura, both in rural and urban areas, have reposed great
trust and confidence in the CPI(M) and Left Front in successive elections,
including those in the recent past. The Plenum of CPI(M) expresses its
solidarity with the people and Left Front government of Tripura and calls
upon all Party units to project these achievements to people in every
corner of the country.
