The Polit Bureau of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) met in New
Delhi on December 6 and 7, 2012. It has issued the following statement:
FDI in Retail Trade
The decision of the UPA government to allow foreign supermarket
chains in the multi-brand retail trade has met with widespread
opposition from all sections of the people throughout the country. In
Parliament, after refusing to accept a debate and vote on the issue, the
government had to finally accede to the demand. The debate in both
Houses of Parliament revealed that an overwhelming number of political
parties representing a clear majority of the MPs are not in favour of
allowing FDI in retail trade. This reflects the views of the majority
of the people of the country.
However, despite this opposition, the government was able to
maneouvre to get the motion against FDI in retail trade defeated. This
was possible due to the opportunism of the Samajwadi Party and the
dubious position adopted by the Bahujan Samaj Party. Both these parties
spoke out against FDI in retail trade but acted in a manner to help the
government succeed.
The strong opposition registered in Parliament and the actual
minority status of the government on the issue should be utilized to
intensify the struggle against the entry of Walmart and other
supermarket chains into India. The Polit Bureau resolved to continue
the campaign to mobilize public opinion to prevent the entry of the
foreign supermarket chains.
Cash Transfer Scheme
The Polit Bureau reiterates its strong opposition to the move to
implement the cash transfer scheme to replace the public goods like
foodgrains through public distribution system and fertilizers. In a
period of high inflation, cash transfers to replace subsidized goods is
meant to actually cut subsidies since the cash to be transferred will
not cover the increased costs of the same amount of subsidized
foodgrains or fertilizers. Cash, instead of foodgrains, can also be end
up for other consumption needs and result in increasing malnutrition
and hunger. Having cash transfers in place of foodgrains will end up
dismantling the public distribution system and procurement from farmers.
Regarding the linking of MNREGA wages to the Aadhar card, bio-metric
identification for manual workers has a high 20 per cent margin of
error as fingerprints of such workers change. The linking of MNREGA
enrollment to Aadhar card holders will restrict the universality of the
scheme. Moreover, the Bill proposed for the Unique Identification
Number (UID) has not yet been passed by Parliament, but the government
is going ahead with such far-reaching measures.
As far as scholarship, pensions etc are concerned, most of these
schemes are already cash transfer schemes through bank accounts. The
amount and also the coverage of these schemes should be increased and
linked to the price index.
Communal Violence
The Polit Bureau noted with concern the outbreak of communal violence
in Faizabad in Uttar Pradesh on October 24. The trouble started during
the procession of the Durga puja idols for immersion. In a
pre-planned manner, the minority community came under attack. 42 shops
belonging to Muslims were burnt down. Attacks took place in two other
sub-divisions of the district the same evening. This was not a communal
riot but a planned attack on the Muslim community. The role of the
Hindutva outfits has emerged. Faizabad is the twin town of Ayodhya
which saw no communal violence even at the height of the Ram temple
movement and the demolition of the Babri Masjid.
There have been a number of communal incidents in Uttar Pradesh in
the recent months. The Samajwadi Party government has to take these
communal incidents seriously. The Polit Bureau wants the state
government to take firm measures to curb the activities of the communal
forces.
In Hyderabad, the issue of extending the construction around the
temple illegally constructed adjacent to the Charminar has led to
communal tensions. The Muslim community and the secular forces have
opposed the efforts to build up the temple which did not exist there
till the 1960s. The state government should intervene firmly to check
the communal forces from utilizing the “temple” issue.
Five Crore Signatures
The Polit Bureau called upon all its Party units to undertake the
mass signature campaign on food security and for a universal public
distribution system. The Left parties have given a call for the
collection of five crore signatures by the end of January 2013. The
Party units should organize a door to door campaign to collect these
signatures.
All India Jathas
The Polit Bureau decided that the Party would organize all India
jathas to project a national alternative. The Left platform on food,
land and house sites, employment, education, health and the fight
against corruption will be propagated. Jathas led by all-India leaders
will cover the whole country in March 2013 and they will culminate in a
mass rally at Delhi. The details of these jathas will be finalized at
the Central Committee meeting to be held in Kolkata in January 2013.
