The Central Committee of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met
in New Delhi on June 9-10, 2012. It has issued the following statement:
Grim Economic Situation
The Central Committee expressed concern at the economic slowdown
facing the country. The GDP growth rate declined to 6.5 per cent in
2011-12 and there is a slowdown in industrial production. The trade
deficit is widening in the backdrop of slowdown in exports. The Indian
rupee has depreciated to over Rs. 55 per dollar. There is a sharp
increase in the external debt. Even as the economic slowdown is
occurring, the inflation rate continues to be high with food inflation
touching 10.5 per cent. This is adding to the suffering of the people.
The ruling establishment and the corporate media are portraying this
deterioration as a failure to push through neo-liberal reforms. This
is a travesty of facts. On the contrary, like in the rest of the world,
the worsening economic situation in India is a direct outcome of the
pursuit of neo-liberal policies. The increasing income inequalities
have made the growth process unsustainable; deregulation and concessions
for speculative finance and the big corporates are affecting the
stability of the financial sector.
The Central Committee strongly opposes the moves to push through more
neo-liberal measures. The Central Committee condemns the move to open
up the FDI in multi-brand retail. The Party, along with other Left and
democratic forces, will conduct a widespread movement to block any such
move. The Central Committee calls upon all the opposition parties in
Parliament to oppose the legislations which seek to increase the FDI
limit in banking and insurance sectors and the Pension Bill, which is
meant to privatize pension funds.
Food Stocks
The Central Committee noted that the total stock of foodgrains in
central pool has reached 7.11 crore metric tonnes in May 2012. This is 5
crore metric tonnes in excess of the buffer stock norm. Much of these
stocks are also rotting in the absence of adequate warehousing space.
Yet the government refuses to offload these stocks of wheat and rice at
cheap prices to the poor and malnourished. The government is more
interested in exporting foodgrains, even by incentivizing private
traders.
The Central Committee demands that the Union government release these
food stocks at BPL prices through the PDS and under special schemes for
the drought-affected areas and to the poor and destitute sections.
Petrol Price Hike
The Central Committee reiterated its opposition to the steep petrol
price hike. The reduction of the price by Rs. 2 per litre is totally
inadequate since the price is still higher by over Rs. 5.50 per litre.
The Central Committee demands that a full rollback of the petrol price
increase.
Coal Block Allocations
According to reports, the Comptroller and Auditor General has found
the process of allocation of coal blocks to various companies, faulty.
This has resulted in huge profits for the private parties and massive
loss of revenue to the government. The Central Vigilance Commissioner
has already referred the matter to the CBI for investigation. The
response of the Prime Minister’s office to the allegations on the
allocations is not credible.
The Central Committee demands a thorough investigation by the CBI
into the matter and to fix the responsibility of those involved.
Kerala Situation
The Central Committee discussed the prevailing political situation in
Kerala. After the killing of T. P. Chandrasekharan on May 4, there has
been a concerted campaign blaming the CPI(M) for the murder. This
campaign has been unleashed by the Central Minister of State for Home,
the Chief Minister and the Congress leaders in Kerala. This propaganda
was kept up in view of the Assembly bye-election in Neyyattinkara which
was held on June 2.
The police investigation is sought to be influenced by the government
and the ruling party. The police is trying to implicate leaders of the
Party in Kozhikode and Kannur districts. The Party has condemned the brutal killing and denied any involvement
in the incident. The Party has strongly asserted that it does not
believe in the elimination of political opponents. The Party leadership
has also stated that on enquiry, if it is found that there is
involvement of any Party member at any level, strong action will be
taken. The Central Committee called upon the Party ranks to unitedly
face this anti-Communist campaign and mobilise the people to rebuff the
attempts to defame the Party.
Shimla Elections
The Central Committee congratulated the Himachal Pradesh state
committee of the Party on the victory achieved in the Mayor and Deputy
Mayor elections to the Shimla Municipal Corporation. The defeat of the
Congress which was running the corporation and the BJP which is in
state government shows that the people will vote for an effective
alternative to the Congress and the BJP, if it is presented.
US Strategic Designs
The US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta visited Delhi in order to
involve India in the United States strategic pivot to the Asia-Pacific
region. In the words of Panetta, India should be a “lynchpin” in the
US strategy in Asia. The UPA government should realize the dangers of
involving itself in a strategic alliance with the United States and
firmly turn down any such role in the American strategic designs in
Asia.
The Central Committee called upon the UPA government not to fall in
line with the US-NATO and the Gulf states on the developments in Syria.
The Indian government should not become party to moves to stoke civil
war conditions and destabilize Syria. The Central Committee strongly criticized the UPA government’s steps
to curtail oil purchases from Iran. This is being done under pressure
from the United States and it goes against the vital interests of the
country with regard to energy security.
Movement for Food Security
The Central Committee endorsed the call given by the Left parties for
conducting the movement for food security and a universal PDS. The
campaign will demand a universal public distribution system with no
targeting of APL and BPL; 35 kilograms of foodgrains at not more than
Rs. 2 per kg for every family per month. Throughout the month of July,
the Left parties will mobilise and conduct struggles, from the block
level onwards, on the issue of PDS and adequate supply of foodgrains. It
will culminate in a continuous dharna during the monsoon session of
Parliament in Delhi from July 30 to August 3, in which thousands of
people will participate.
Central Secretariat
The Central Committee elected a six-member Secretariat consisting of
Prakash Karat, Hari Singh Kang, Hannan Mollah, Nilotpal Basu, V.
Srinivasa Rao and Jogendra Sharma.
Central Discipline Commission
The Central Committee elected a four-member Central Discipline
Commission consisting of S. Ramachandran Pillai (Chairperson), Madan
Ghosh, V. Srinivasa Rao and U. Vasuki.
