Vijayawada, August 07: Opposing the UPA government’s ‘neo-liberal policies’ and also the strategic alliance with the United States of America will be the central theme of CPM’s deliberations at its extended central committee meeting beginning here tomorrow.
CPM general secretary Prakash Karat, West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar, Politburo members Sitaram Yechury, Brinda Karat, B V Raghavulu and a host of other leaders will attend the fourday meeting being held as an ‘interim arrangement’ by the party in lieu of its national congress slated for next year.
Kerala chief minister V S Achutanandan’s participation in the meeting has not yet been confirmed as he is said to be indisposed, according to CPM sources.
The meeting will adopt a key political resolution that will give a new direction to the CPM’s course of action in the changed scenario subsequent to its withdrawal of support to the UPA government at the Centre. The draft resolution, released on the eve of the ECC
meeting, speaks of the CPM taking up a fight against the ‘whole gamut of neoliberal policies’ that are affecting the lives of people.
“The UPA government has pursued these policies for the past six years.
The fight against these policies should be taken up at the government level, both Central and states, and the local level by taking up the people’s issues like public distribution system, job security, land issues, access to health care, education and basic services,” the draft resolution says.
“The UPA government is working to strengthen the strategic alliance with the USA at all levels including military collaboration.
This alliance influences domestic policies and is the main detriment to an independent foreign policy,” it says, adding that the CPM should step up opposition to the strategic alliance by rallying all “patriotic and democratic sections”of society to push for an independent foreign policy.
The draft resolution also talks about the dangers of ‘communal politics’ with the RSS and the BJP being the ‘vehicle for majority communalism’.
“The CPM would like to politically fight the BJP and adopt tactics to rally the secular forces to isolate it. Maoists have emerged as a threat while the situation in Jammu and Kashmir has turned alarming once again. These issues will be discussed in detail at the meeting,” CPM politburo member B V Raghavulu said here.
“With the party facing the prospect of losing power in West Bengal after almost three decades, the ECC would focus on the political scenario in the state. Certain inimical forces are making efforts to harm the CPM in West Bengal. We have suffered some setbacks because of this. These issues will be discussed at the meeting and also the ways to meet the challenges,” Raghavulu said.
The draft resolution also says the CPM will put forward the ‘alternative policies’ of the Left and work to strengthen Left unity.
It also talks of consolidating the Left forces to “wage a determined struggle against the disruptive activities of the Maoists.”
-Agencies