THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Madurai City in Tamil Nadu is all set to host the CPI(M)’s 24th Party Congress on Wednesday, April 2. The historic city, which has witnessed many a struggle against casteism and exploitation of the poor and downtrodden, has literally turned red with thousands of party workers and leaders assembling in the city, holding aloft the red flag. .
The historic Congress will be held at the Tamukkam Maidan in the heart of the city from April 2 to April 6. More than 800 delegates, including 80 observers will participate in the Congress which is expected to give shape to the policies to fight the growing menace of communalism and corporate domination in the Indian polity. The Congress will be inaugurated by Politburo Coordinator Prakash Karat at the Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Memorial Hall at 10.30 a.m.
Many left leaders including CPI general secretary D. Raja will attend the inaugural meet which will be presided over by CPI(M) veteran Manik Sirkar. There will be a seminar on “Federalism is India’s strength” on April 3, which will be addressed, among others, by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his Tamil Nadu counterpart M. K. Stalin and Karnataka Higher Education Minister Sudhakar. This will be followed by a cultural meet the same day. At 3 p.m. on April 6, the red volunteers will start their march. There will be a public meeting at the N. Sankaraiah memorial ground.
The political-organisational report of the CPI(M), which will be presented at the Congress, will reiterate the party’s commitment to battle, with redoubled vigour, the forces of communalism, and devise ways and means to strengthen the fight against these forces, which are posing a grave danger to the democratic-secular polity of the country. The paramount need of the hour is to arrest the onward march of these fascist forces which are straining every nerve to implement the communal agenda.
The CPI(M) Party Congress will, therefore, prioritise the need to innovate novel ways to attract the youth to the party. This is an essential prerequisite in the battle against these forces. Admitting the failure in reaching out sufficiently to the youth, the report proposes to organise activities for students and the youth in residential areas, sports arenas and cultural spaces, including libraries.
The report also acknowledges the adverse impact the disturbing changes in the country’s educational system is having on the students and the youth. The youth are aspirational but are fighting against heavy odds, especially in the North. Street protests against all manner of injustice have become the order of the day. The party, therefore, has to address their concerns by engaging with them in cultural spaces and using social media platforms.
The CPI(M) will seek to give special attention to states like West Bengal, which were once the party strongholds but where the party has weakened. An essential first step in recovering lost ground in these States will be to activate the party branch committees, which are the basic units of the CPI(M). The mission to strengthen the party has to start from the lowest rung and move upwards. It is a difficult task, which has to be undertaken on a war footing, given the extremely dangerous situation the country finds itself in.
The Kerala unit of the CPI(M) has its task cut out as it accounts for more than half – 5. 64 lakh – of the CPI(MP)’s 10, 19, 009 members. True, the party has managed to retain power for a second term. And it is also set to win a third term, given the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government’s impressive performance and the disarray in the Opposition in the State. But the party should not allow itself to be lulled into a false sense of complacency. There are indications that the sailing is not going to be smooth.
Neither the CPI(M) nor the CPI and the LDF’s other allies can afford the luxury of resting on its laurels. The need of the hour is to strengthen the organisation further and persist on the path of more people-friendly policies. Alongside this must go the more difficult task of halting the onward march of the communal-corporate forces which are hell bent on altering the democratic-secular and pluralistic profile of Kerala. It is a matter of grave concern that these forces have made inroads into even the strongholds of the left parties in the last Assembly elections.
True the BJP-RSS combine failed to win a single seat in the State Assembly. But the fact that the duo managed to win the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency must jolt all left, secular and democratic forces out of their complacency. The time has come to redouble efforts to fight these forces by identifying the factors which contribute to their victory in Thrissur and applying the correctives with a sense of urgency. True, their efforts to poison the pluralistic ethos of the State have not succeeded to the extent they want to. But that is no reason for the left forces to lower their guard. To borrow a Nehruvian expression, freedom is in grave danger. Time to defend it with all the might at our command.
That exactly is the task the 24th CPI(M) Congress will be called upon to undertake. The CPI(M) has a special responsibility in this regard. Being the strongest left party, it has to firm up its individual strength. The CPI(M) Congress can be expected to give its undivided attention to this stupendous task. (IPA Service)
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