A Tribute to Comrade Jyoti Basu on his Birth Centenary

Jyoti Basu  the doyen of Indian Communist movement  was today remembered in his state  of West Bengal with elan The Central Programme   which was organized at Najrul Mancha  in Kolkata saw over pouring of emotions from the mass who gathered there despite  inclement weather .  Noted Economist Prabhat Pattanayak  delivered his address as the key note speaker  in the programme alongside of the Left Leaders of the state including former Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattachary and  Left Front Chairman Biman Basu . Notable speakers in the programme included Jyoti Basu’s press Secretary  Sarit Bandhyapadhya and   Naxal leader  Ajijul Haque, CPI leader Manjukumar Majumdar , Rsp leader Khiti Goswami   .  The programme was presided over  by nonagenarian  Forward Block leader Ashok Ghosh .

In his keynote address eminent economist  Prabhat Pattanayak said that after the Castro brothers  Jyoti Basu is the only communist leader in the world with maximum popularity .While Party leaders like P Sundaraiya  M Basabpunanaiah came from a humble background Jyoti Basu who belonged from a well to do background had been endeared to the mass as he had no duplicity  and had earned the trust of the masses  as an outstanding communist leader . 

In his speech he traced  the origin of Bengals Social and economic crisis  and he said that after Ireland ,Bengal was the next colony of the raj era  which was exploited to the core by the colonial rule  by lieu of permanent settlement . The Agararian crisis which stared at the state  was due to no capital intake in irrigation   and per capita agrarian growth was the lowest in  the state . Along with that  there was crisis in the Jute and other capital industry in the state and said that  real revival of the states economy occurred in the 80’s decade  and it was the  2nd renaissance of Bengal courtesy the communist party . Accusing that it has been the Union Government which has led the state Governments to a Debt trap he said that now industrial growth is at 0 % and inflation stands at 10%. The Neo liberalization has thrown   a fascist face as the corporate lobby has brought to the power in the country  Narendra mOdi . Now we are in the face of rampant Privatistation with  employment growth at 0.8%  we are now faced  with the growth of lumpen capitalism which is happening  in the state of west Bengal.Infact the nature of criminal activities which are taking place in the state can be explained with this  and the Left Is the only consistent force against this .  HE also called for throwing up of new programme alongside the old ones like the land reforms  or smashing the caste basis in agriculture  and  he called on to the Left  to campaign for movement based on giving universal rights to people like that of right to free heathcare , right to food and   Right to free quality education and so on .

 Former Chief Minister of the state Buddhadeb Bhattacharya described The communist leader  as a multifaceted persona and harped on the three main attributes of Jyoti Basu as champion of democratic rights , as   a   champion of  secular credentials  and his credit in bringing the voice of the working class and the agrarian section to the  corridors of power.  He also said that currently we are in a difficult situation where the country’s politics has taken a rightist turn  and the Corporate RSS lobby has brought the   Narendra Modi to the power.

Left Front Chairman Biman Basu in his speech  highlighted that attribute of Jyoti Basu and his zeal to work for the common people  and to work without any personal gain  and called on to people  for following that ideals .  In his Speech Press Secretary to Jyoti Basu pointed out his qualities as a human being - one who worked with rational mind and scientific attitude .  In His speech Naxal leader Ajijul Haque pointed out  that Jyoti Basu was  during the times of ideological struggle was  the emblem of change .   The Longest Serving speaker of any assembly of the country , Former West Bengal speaker Hasim Abdul Halim in his speech  told that  Comrade Jyoti Basu is an emblem of movement . 

 The programme where  Cultural rendition’s were made was organized by Jyoti Basu Birth centenary observance Committee which consisted of wHo’s who of the cultural literary political  and sports world .  The Committee has also taken up programme of organizing Symposiums seminars and other programmes to observe the birth centenary of the ace statesman.  Apart from the Central programme throughout the state  Blood donation camp  and cultural programmes were held  in memory of the Communist leader.

CPI(M) calls for united struggle against reforms in Andhra Pradesh

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has given a call for a united struggle by farmers and workers against the policies pursued by the Central and State governments. The party city unit organised a meeting at Tummalapalli Kshetrayya Kalakshetram in Vijayawada on Tuesday.

CPI (M) State secretary B.V. Raghavulu said that the reforms were pushing the country into crisis. The government's tall assurances that investments would flood the country with reforms turned out be a blatant lie. Across the globe and in US, the people were up in arms against the capitalism, he said. The steep hike in power tariff was a result of the reforms carried out the by the government.

The government dismantled the electricity board into three companies only to encourage private power companies like Lanco, GVK, and Konaseema. The private power companies were looting the State. If the government succeeded in its endeavour to set up private thermal stations from Srikakulam to Nellore, the power would be a dearer commodity. Then, it was not possible to predict how the power tariff would be, he said.

Sompeta, Kakarapalli, and Krishnapatnam agitations were a result of the dissatisfaction of artisans, farmers and tenant farmers who lost their livelihood. The farmers invaded market yard in Warangal to express their anguish and dissatisfaction to the government. The Congress and BJP were sailing on same boat with regard to reforms, he said.

Comrade N Varadarajan Passes away

Senior CPI(M) leader and former Central Committee member  comrade N. Varadarajan died here on Tuesday at a private hospital after a prolonged illness. Varadarajan, 87, is survived by his wife V Jagadambal and two sons V Kalayanasundaram and V Bharathi.

Comrade Varadarajan who was not keeping well for the past two to three years, had attended the party’s 20th Congress in Kozhikode which concluded on Monday. This morning he complained of uneasiness while he was in the party state committee office in Chennai and was admitted to a private hospital here, where he breathed his last, party sources said.

CPI(M) State Secretary G. Ramakrishnan expressed grief over Mr. Varadarajan’s demise and said it was an “irreparable loss.”

His body was kept at the party’s T. Nagar office for people to pay their respects. It was taken to his hometown Dindigul where the last rites would be performed on Wednesday, the party said in a release. The body will be kept in the party Dindigul district committee office in the morning.

He was born in 1924 in the village of Kambilipattti in Vedanchandhur taluk in Dindugal District. He was the second son of Alamelu and Narayanaswamy. After droping out at 8th standard he joined the Sounderraja Mill as a worker. He was expelled from the job for joining the trade union movement. He became a communist party member in 1943. In 1948 and during the Emergency period he lead underground life for more than 2 years. He was also jailed for a term of 3 years for leading various protests under the banner of communist party. He worked as the secretary of CPIM Dindugal Taluk committee for 19 years. Later he became the district secretary of unified Madurai District Committee. In 1995 he was selected to the party Central Committee. He was elected as the State secretary at the state conference held at Coimbatore in 2002.In the later conferences in 2005 and 2008 he was re elected as the state secretary. He stepdown from the post of state secretary in 2010 February due to health reasons. After that also he was active in the political arena and he played a crucial role in the demolition of Caste wall at uthapuram in Madurai. He was elected to assembly for three times. 1967 from Vedamchandhur constituency and 1970, 1980 from Dindigal Constituency.

CPIM party flag would be flown at half-mast for the next three days as a mark of respect to the departed leader. Peoples from various spectrum came to the Party State committe office, Com P Ramamoorthi Illam to pay tributes to the departed leader. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, DMK chief M. Karunanidhi and leaders of several other political parties have condoled the death of the Marxist veteran.

Red Salute to the departed Leader of the masses : Team Thunderbolt

CENTRAL COMMITTEE AND PB ELECTED AT THE 20TH PARTY CONGRESS

GENERAL SECRETARY : COM PRAKASH KARAT

Resolutions Passed at the 20th Party Congress of CPIM (Page 5)

18. Ensure Social Security for All Toilers

The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demands that all sections of the toiling people, particularly the vulnerable sections, be brought under the cover of social security. The Central government should allocate adequate financial resources to ensure universal social security.

Social security benefits like pension, provident fund, health insurance etc. are hard won rights of the working class secured through decades of struggle in the twentieth century. These gains are now being reversed through privatisation of pension funds, provident funds and cuts in subsidies and welfare benefits. The neoliberal austerity measures being implemented across the world today specifically target the social security benefits in order to pass on the burden of the economic crisis to the working people.

In India, the overwhelming majority of the 46 crore strong workforce, a large number of them women, is outside the cover of any social security. The National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) estimated that 93% of the total workforce was employed in the unorganised sector in 2004-05. The situation has not improved since then, as the NSS 2009-10 data clearly show. This vast mass of people, comprising of the informal sector workers, contractual labourers, self-employed persons, agricultural workers and small peasants, are not entitled to any pension, provident fund or health insurance. The pension schemes for old-aged persons, widows or the disabled persons are so restrictive that the bulk of these vulnerable sections do not benefit from them.

The Unorganised Workers' Social Security Act, enacted in 2008 on the eve of the general elections, has thoroughly failed to provide for universal and comprehensive social security. Ten already existing social welfare schemes, most of which cover only the BPL segments of the population, have been extended to the unorganised sector workers. With the ridiculously low BPL criteria of the government, more than 90% of the unorganised sector workers are left out of the purview of these schemes. The important recommendations of the NCEUS for universal coverage have been ignored. Only in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura under the Left Front have sought to implement the recommendations.

The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY), which is mostly restricted to the BPL population. Budget 2012 proposes to spend Rs. 1568 crore on RSBY (including MGNREGA workers) in the current year, which amounts to only around Rs. 550 worth of benefits per worker. Such a token amount will fail to provide any meaningful health insurance coverage. The National Social Security Fund for Unorganised Workers has not been allocated additional funds after the initial allocation of Rs. 1000 crore in 2010.

This Congress holds that health schemes in the name of health security using an insurance model actually channels public funds to private medical sector. India requires a strong public health system which will provide comprehensive health care.

The existing social security cover for the organised sector employees, both in the public and private sectors, is also under threat. The interest rate for the Employees Provident Fund has once again been slashed from 9.5% to 8.25%, affecting millions of workers and employees. The PFRDA Bill seeks to privatise pension funds, allow FDI in the sector and facilitate the investment of pension funds in the speculative stock market.

Under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension scheme, a measly amount of Rs. 400 to Rs. 500 per month is given to old age persons under BPL, out of which the central government bears only Rs. 200 per person. The needs of senior citizens are grossly neglected. Despite repeated demands, the Government has refused to enact legislation to ensure comprehensive social security for the agricultural workers, who are the most exploited. Bulk of the rural poor in India is outside any social security coverage. The paltry budgetary allocations for the social security schemes constrain the capacity of the Central and State governments to expand the coverage of social security. The total Central Plan Outlay for social security and welfare in Budget 2012 was Rs. 18190 crore, which is only around 0.18% of GDP.

The neo-liberal policies pursued by the central government seek to restrict social security to mere tokenism. The 20th Congress of the CPI (M) demands that the government abandon its anti-people approach and make adequate financial allocations to ensure universal coverage of minimum social security benefits comprising of:

• Old age pension above 60 years and extended benefits for senior citizens
• Widow pension
• Maternity benefits etc
• Life and accidental coverage
• Disability allowance
• A public health system tat is adequately financed and accessible to all

These social security benefits should be extended to all sections of the toiling people: the informal sector workers including home-based workers, contractual labourers, self-employed persons, agricultural workers and small peasants. The BPL eligibility criteria for social security should be discarded forthwith.

The 20th Congress of the CPI (M) calls upon all sections of the toiling people to unite and launch sustained struggles to secure their right to social security. 

19.Resolution on Unemployment

The 20th Congress of the CPI (M) expresses deep concern at the failure of the Indian state to ensure adequate employment opportunities for the masses in rural and urban areas. The most recent data point to a grim future for millions of young men and women if the present policies are to continue. It also shows that the much proclaimed growth story of the Indian economy is a jobless and job loss growth.

According to the National Sample Survey data for 2009-10, there is a sharp decrease in employment growth in India, from an annual rate of around 2.7 per cent during 2000-2005 to only 0.8 per cent during 2005-2010. Growth in nonagricultural employment fell from 4.65 per cent per year to 2.53 per cent, even at a time when annual GDP growth was above 8 per cent, during the latter period. The MGNREGA has not been able to ensure more than 40 to 50 days of work per household in a year, despite the statutory commitment to provide 100 days of work.

The unemployment rate for the youth in the 15 to 29 years age group remains at very high levels. For rural young males it was 10.9 per cent and for rural young females 12 percent. The figures in urban areas is equally disturbing, at 10.5 per cent for young men and as high as 18.9 per cent for young women. In both the rural and urban areas, unemployment rate among the educated (secondary and above) persons of 15 years old and above was higher than those whose education level was lower than secondary school.

Even though large numbers of unemployed do not register themselves at the Government employment exchanges, the number of job seekers registered with the 966 employment exchanges across the country stood at a staggering 3.81 crore at the end of 2009, out of which 2.9 crore were educated jobseekers and 90 lakh uneducated jobseekers. As against the registration of over 62 lakh job seekers in 2011, only 4.7 lakh placements were made through employment exchanges.

In this situation of galloping unemployment, the 20th Congress of the CPI (M) strongly protests against the virtual ban on recruitments by the Central Government and public sector units. The 20th Congress also strongly protests against the policy of abolition of vacant posts in various government departments being pursued by the government. There are above 10 lakh vacancies lying unfilled in various central government departments, with the number of unfilled vacancies in the police and defense forces alone amount to over 7 lakh. The number of vacancies in Group C and erstwhile Group D posts in the railways as on 1st April 2011 was over 2.2 lakh. Vacancies also exist for skilled professionals such as teachers, doctors, scientists, statisticians, economists etc. Half of these vacancies belong to SC, ST and OBC categories.

Since the Government which is the main employer in the organized sector refuses to take measures to expand employment opportunities, it is hardly surprising that the total organized sector employment in India was only 2.87 crore in 2010, out of a total workforce of over 46 crore (i.e. around 6%). Employment in the organized sector, public and private combined, has grown by only 2.3 per cent in 2009 and 1.9 per cent in 2010.

This reveals the real nature of India's much proclaimed growth story. An utterly lopsided pattern of growth has meant that while agriculture's share in GDP has declined to just 15 per cent today, the workforce dependent on agriculture still remains as high as 52 per cent. Growth in the services and industrial sectors is failing to generate adequate jobs to absorb surplus workforce from agriculture. Such jobless growth is also creating a growing divide between the urban and the rural areas and widening socio-economic inequalities in an unprecedented manner.

The 20th Congress of the CPI (M) calls upon its units to organize the unemployed people, particularly the youth, and launch agitations on the following demands:

• Lift the ban on recruitment in different Central and State Government departments and PSEs; Stop the policy of abolition of vacant posts and fill all vacancies
• Provide unemployment allowance to the registered unemployed; Modernize employment exchanges
• Expand the scope of the MGNREGA to all individuals (not only to households) and enhance the cap of 100 days
• Initiate Urban Employment Guarantee Scheme at minimum wages with a minimum of one-third jobs reserved for women
• Enhance financial support for self-employment schemes, SHGs and small enterprises
• Release employment data along with quarterly GDP estimates 

20. In Defence of the Rights of the Urban Poor against Anti-People Urban Reforms

 The 20th Party Congress of the CPI (M) notes that while urbanization in many states has picked up in the recent period in our country, the Central Government is imposing a regime of urban reform reflecting the policies of the World Bank. The basic thrust of these policies is to meet the requirements of the neo-rich, the corporate and foreign investors. Considering that the process of urbanization in a country like India also reflects distress migration to the cities of the rural population, these policies have a very negative impact on the vast mass of the urban poor.

Reform projects like the JNNURM; make allocation of funds conditional to the acceptance of anti-people conditions such as the lifting of the urban land ceiling and imposition of a range of user charges on essential civic services. Urban bodies are deprived of funds and the burden of these policies is borne by the common people and particularly the urban poor. Although many State Governments, who are committed to such policies themselves, raise no objections, in fact, the very project is an assault and encroachment on the rights of the States. It is only the Left Front Governments in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura which had fought against these conditions.

This Party Congress strongly protests against the imposition of high user charges and the constant hike in charges on various municipal services such as water, sanitation, betterment charges ranging from 100 to 1000 per cent. Municipal services which were directly handled by municipalities which were accountable to the people are now being privatized. Various concessions extended to the people are being withdrawn.

This Party Congress notes with deep concern that on the basic right of housing for the urban poor instead of utilizing the available land to meet the housing needs of people, the policy being adopted by the Central Government is resulting in handing over of lands to private real estate operators. Rajiv Awas Yojana (RAY), a recently-introduced scheme, provides an opportunity for the private real estate operators to grab large extent of urban lands which are hitherto with the poor urban slum-dwellers. The RAY, in its preamble, envisages totally slum-free cities. It listed out various categories of land belonging to government or quasi-government institutions, where slums are not permitted. Wherever an exception is to be made, the scheme insists that it should be a PPP model housing only. Taking advantage of this scheme and its related policies, private real estate mafia is resorting to unscrupulous means to drive away the poor from their dwellings to take over the lands. At the same time the Indian Railways and other Central Government institutions which own a substantial amount of land in urban areas are evicting thousands of families who have been living on that land for decades. The police firing and repression in Jharkhand on those resisting evictions resulting in the deaths of six persons and recently the brutal evictions in Kolkata show the anti-poor nature of these reforms.

During the Left Front regime in Bengal, an alternative method of housing for the poor was developed with in situ development of slums in Kolkata and distribution of urban land pattas for the cost of just one rupee. This model should be used all over the country.

This Party Congress calls upon its units in urban areas to take up the wide range of civic issues concerning the urban poor and organize them in their residential areas. This must include the rights of the working poor such as street vendors and migrants. It gives a clarion call for a determined struggle against the harmful urban reforms. 

21. Resolution on Violence against Women

This 20th Congress of the CPI(M) expresses deep concern over the steep escalation in crimes against women, and is alarmed by the barbarity and savagery of the atrocities being committed at a time when women are entering public life, institutions of learning, and diverse work spheres in increasing numbers. The crude commodification of women and the portrayal of women as sex objects in the mass media is highly objectionable and is not only demeaning to women but creates an environment which trivialises the crime of sexual harassment and violence against women.

In the period between 2006 and 2010, crimes against women have registered an increase of as much as 29.3%. While registered cases of domestic violence against women have increased by 5 per cent over the previous year to 94, 041 cases the number of dowry deaths is as high as 8391 in 2010. Yet there is a retrograde campaign to dilute even the inadequate clause 498 at which deals with this issue, which must be resisted. The increase in the number of cases of sexual assault and rape show that the safety and security of women is deeply compromised. There were over 94,000 rape cases registered in 2010, in other words in every hour seven women/children became victims of rape. Many cases go unreported because the victims belong to the poorer socially oppressed sections that have little access to justice. In particular sexual assaults on tribal and dalit women are greatly underreported. Shockingly, the conviction rates in crimes against women are just 26 per cent which means that three fourths of the criminals get away scot-free. The failure to punish the criminals and the long delay in the judicial process is undoubtedly one of the reasons for the increase in rapes and gang rapes being witnessed in several parts of the country.

This Party congress condemns the failure of the Central Government to make the essential changes in the legal framework even though Bills are pending for several years. India is one of the few countries which do not have a special law against child sexual abuse even though such crimes are increasing. Working women face increased cases of sexual harassment at the workplace, including horrific cases against young women in the IT sector, yet twelve years after the Supreme Court guidelines in the Vishakha case, the Government has still not enacted the required law. Even though crimes in the name of honour have increased the Government has refused to enact a comprehensive legislation because of powerful casteist lobbies.

This Party Congress protests against the anti- women and utterly insensitive statements made by some political leaders who blame the victim or who call into question the veracity of her complaint. Recent outrageous statements by the West Bengal Chief Minister calling complaints of rape a political conspiracy against her Government, even while the investigation confirmed the truth of the victims' complaints are an assault on the rights of victims for justice. In Karnataka the ruling party, the BJP has refused to take criminal action against Ministers watching pornographic films during the Assembly session. In Rajasthan, the Congress Government initially did its best to shield a senior Minister and MLAs from charges of sexual exploitation and subsequent murder of a dalit health worker who threatened to expose their misdemeanors. The law gets compromised and victim becomes doubly victimized by such insensitivity and blatant bias by some political leaders and officials.

This Congress demands sound, effective legal intervention to enforce time bound punishment of the guilty. The social, political, and economic factors leading to escalating violence against women must also be addressed in a comprehensive and gender sensitive manner.

The 20th Party Congress of the CPI (M) reiterates its commitment to fight against the increasing violence against women and for stringent punishment to the criminals in all such cases.

Resolutions Passed at the 20th Party Congress of CPIM (Page 4)

13. Resolution on Increasing Contractorisation of Workers

The 20th Congress of the CPI (M) expresses its deep concern and strongly protests, against the increasing contractorisation of workers in various sectors of the economy which has resulted in a manifold increase in the exploitation of workers, by keeping wage costs down and denying workers their minimum rights.

Shamefully, it is the Central and many State Governments in pursuit of neo-liberal policies which have taken the lead in imposing contractorisation of the workforce. In the name of making industries competitive and attracting investments, the Central Government has permitted the gross violation of the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act 1970 by the private and public sector. The Act prohibits employment of contract workers in jobs of a perennial nature, but in practice this is what is happening and has become wide spread, not only in the manufacturing and service sectors but also in Government services. In the unorganized sector, the practice is rampant.

In Public Sector units, the contractor workers share in the total workforce is more than 50% and in the Private Sector it is more than 80%. As per a recent survey by a Government organization, there are more than 3.6 crores of contract workers under licensed contractors. Keeping in view the mushrooming growth of unlicensed contractors the total number of contract workers will be more than 5 crores.

Contract workers are denied even the legal minimum wages and other statutory social security benefits like ESI, PF. While contract workers are deployed along with regular workers in regular activities of the establishment, their wages are always paltry. In some cases, the contract worker gets one-tenth of the wages of a regular worker, for doing similar work.

The majority of these workers are denied the right to organize. The immediate threat of losing their jobs and income if they unionise ensures that they remain vulnerable to intense exploitation. In particular women contract workers often become victims to harassment and sexual abuse.

Trade Unions in the country have been demanding amendments to the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act to ensure regularization of contract workers in perennial nature of jobs, and to end the collusion of employers and enforcement authorities, so as to ensure proper implementation of the law. Pending the legal changes required, trade unions have demanded that contract workers should be paid wages equal to that of a regular worker with other social security benefits so as to end the cruel exploitation prevalent now.

The 20th Congress of CPI(M) extends full support to the struggles of Contractor Workers and Trade Unions on their just demands of ending this exploitative contractor system in regular jobs. The fight against capitalism in its neo liberal phase requires an understanding of how the widespread nature of the contract worker system is functioning as an instrument to intensify the exploitation of labour and further push down the subsistence wage to maximise profits.

As a party of the working class, the CPIM calls upon it's units to launch a widespread campaign against contractualisation of the labour force as part of the party's political platform and to help to mobilize contract workers for their rights and for justice.  

14. On the Demand for Land Reform

The 20th Party Congress of the CPI(M) expresses its strong opposition to the present policies of reverse land reform, that is, the dispossession of the peasantry from their land, and the efforts to facilitate corporate takeover of land, including fertile agricultural land. This is reflected in the Approach document of the 12th Five Year Plan which encourages reverse leasing for consolidation of the landholdings and encourages corporate farming. In many States land ceiling laws have been changed to permit this.

There is extreme concentration of ownership of agricultural holdings in India As the NSSO report on landholdings shows, just 3.5 per cent of landowners own 37.72 per cent of the land. On the other hand, there is a shocking increase in the number of landless peasant households, from 22 per cent in 1992 to 41 per cent today. Clearly, agrarian distress, mainly for the small and marginal peasants, aggravated by neo-liberal economic policies, has forced the rural poor sections to sell their assets, including land and livestock and join the army of migrants in search of livelihoods, while the richer landed classes have benefited.

Although the UPA Government, under pressure from the Left parties, had included a commitment for land reform and distribution in its programme in 2004, it has refused to act even on the recommendations of the official committee report titled "An Unfinished Agenda of Land Reforms."

It has been estimated that the potential of surplus land over the ceilings is 21 million hectares. Of this, only a fraction has been declared surplus, and even less actually distributed.

In contrast, the Left-led Governments in Tripura at present and in West Bengal and Kerala, when they were in office still hold the record for the best and most effective programmes of land reform. In West Bengal, over 11 lakh acres of land were distributed to landless families. Over 10 lakh families were given homestead land. Over 15 lakh sharecroppers were recorded and given inalienable rights. Women benefited through joint pattas and also land titles for single women.The total number of families who benefited from land reform in West Bengal alone will exceed 45 lakh two-thirs of whome were SC ST or from minority communities, which accounts for 48 percent of total land reform beneficiaries in the country. In Kerala, due to land reforms, 26 lakh tenants got land and 5.5 lakh families got 10 cents of land each and homestead rights. The last LDF Government launched a campaign to provide homestead land and houses to all homeless families in the State under the EMS Housing Scheme and set the construction of 5 lakh houses as a policy target. It undertook to distribute a minimum of one acre of land to all landless tribal families, to distribute surplus and waste land to the landless poor, and to provide land possession documents and title deeds (patta) to peasants in hilly regions. Tripura has the best record in the country in distribution of land to tribals and in making these lands economically viable. The Central Government itself has had to admit that the implementation of rights guaranteed to tribals under the Forest Rights Act has been best implemented in Tripura by the Left led Government.

On the one hand the redistributive agenda of Land Reforms is not being taken up in most States despite the concentration of land in few hands and increasing landlessness. On the other hand, large scale forcible acquisitions and the conversion of agricultural and forest land into land for SEZs, mining, for corporates and the real estate promoters is taking place. Tribal communities are particularly badly affected. Several States have amended land ceiling laws and land use rules to facilitate this. In some States even where dalits have been given pattas they have not been given possession of the land, while in other cases like in Tamilnadu, they are being evicted.

The proposed Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (LARR) Act to replace the draconian 1894 Land Acquisition Act, is totally inadequate and does not afford sufficient protection to the peasantry against forcible land acquisition and in fact gives exemptions to as many as 16 laws related to acquisition in areas like mining, SEZs, railways, national highways etc. where compensation provisions will not apply.

This Party Congress opposes the Bill in its present form and demands that it be redrafted according to the suggestions made by democratic organization of the kisans and tribals.

This Congress asserts that no redressal of the problems of the vast majority is possible without altering the correlation of forces in the rural countryside. The inequitous agrarian structure has been an obstacle to unleashing the productive forces, to enhanced productivity, to the modernization of agriculture and to rural development in general. The concentration of land in few hands and the hierarchical power relations revolving around caste, which are reinforced by inequality in land holdings, has also led to widening disparities in income and wealth.

The 20th Congress of the CPI(M) considers that resolving the land question and implementing thoroughgoing land reforms by breaking the land monopoly is central to the emancipation of the rural poor. Carrying out land reform is important to break the continuing caste, gender and other types of social oppression in rural areas.

The 20th Congress of the CPI(M) calls for mobilizing the landless and the rural poor to organize struggles for land distribution and for breaking land monopolies.  

15. Demand for Legal Mechanism to Implement Sub-Plan and Employment Quotas

The 20th Party Congress of the CPI (M) notes with concern that the 1980 Planning Commission guidelines for allocation of budgetary resources for the development of scheduled castes and scheduled tribes in proportion to their population has remained only on paper. Whereas the allocations for STs should be at least 8.2 per cent of the budgetary allocation for the central plan and the allocations for SCs should be at least 16.2 per cent, in this budget as previous ones also, the allocations are roughly half of what it should be. The shortfall for the three years since 2010 for the TSP is over 30,000 crores rupees, while for the SCSP it is at least 72751 crores rupees.

The special component sub-plan for SCs and STs is to make up the huge gaps that exist between dalits and tribals on the one hand and the general population on the other. Residential areas and villages of tribals and dalits reflect a most shocking deprivation of minimum civic rights and facilities with no infrastructure or social development. Thus the wanton violation of these guidelines has a direct impact of intensifying the grave injustices perpetrated on dalit and tribal communities. It is shameful that lakhs of crores of rupees have been either cut or diverted in the last decade from the funds accruing for ST and SC development. It is a similar situation with shortfalls in most State budget.

The 20th Party Congress also notes with concern that the constitutional mandate for reservation of jobs in the Government sector is not being implemented with a huge backlog in ST and SC quotas. With the drastic cutback in employment in Government and public sector recruitment, the opportunities for employment in the organised sector for SCs and STs are shrinking. At the same time, in spite of assurances the Government has failed to ensure employment of SCs and STs in the private sector. At present they are employed only in menial jobs and as contract or casual workers.

Thus while the private sector takes full advantage of Government largesse, it refuses to shoulder any social responsibilities. 80 per cent of investments in private sector industries are from public sector banks, they are provided land, electricity, water, transport, infrastructure, tax concessions etc by the governments. As per Union Budget 2012-13, the central government has bestowed Rs 5, 28,000 crores on corporates in the form of taxes foregone. Despite drawing so much of public money and profiteering from it, these private corporate want to escape from the constitutional mandate of reserved quotas for SCs and STs.

In view of these realities,
The 20th Party Congress demands:

• A legal mechanism to ensure mandatory implementation of the Planning Commission guidelines for implementation of sub-plan and special component plan for STs and SCs respectively.
• A legal mechanism to ensure that backlog in jobs in Government and public sector are filled within a timeframe to be specified
• A new legislation to ensure reservations in the private sector.

It calls on the Party at all levels to build united struggles for these just demands of the STs and SCs. 

16.  On Central Government's Mineral Policies and for Tribal Rights

The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) expresses it strong opposition to the mineral mining policies being followed by the Central Government which have led to the loot and plunder of the country's natural resources. Instead of holding the mineral wealth in Public Trust for the long term benefit of the country and her people, the Government has misused its absolute and arbitrary powers to provide huge profits and windfall gains to private mining companies, global and national, while exploiting and dispossessing the masses dependent on these lands. While the Central and State Governments legally maintain ownership of the mineral resources they have in fact virtually handed over all prospecting as well as extraction rights to private companies.

The Central Government while granting mining leases has fixed extremely low royalty rates. The mining companies have made huge profits. For example the Central Government has recently fixed the royalty for iron ore at just 10 per cent of the value of the mined iron ore, whereas even in a country like Australia, the royalty is a minimum of 30 per cent. Royalty in India is equally low for other major minerals.

Much of the mineral wealth is under land occupied either collectively or individually by tribal communities or under common property resources like forests and in Fifth Schedule areas. International conventions adopted by the United Nations as well as the International Labour Organization have recognized the rights of tribal communities on land and surface and sub-surface resources. Many countries including Canada, Brazil, South Africa and Australia have been forced to at least acknowledge in different ways the rights of indigenous communities on mineral wealth in their respective countries.

But in India, where an overwhelming majority of mines are located in adivasi areas, the tribal's have not only been denied these rights but have been driven out of their lands through forcible acquisition or denied access. The spirit of the Samatha judgment of the Supreme Court to recognize tribal ownership rights has been ignored. The legal requirement under PESAA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act 1996) and the Forest Rights Act for consent of the gram sabha is blatantly violated. On the contrary even where the gram sabha has opposed a particular project, the land is forcibly acquired as for example in the bauxite rich tribal areas in Vishakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh and Kalahandi in Orissa.

In the face of growing resistance by tribal communities, the Central Government is proposing an amendment to the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation Act) 2011, to make it mandatory for companies to give funds for tribal development in districts where they have mining leases. The funds are to be put in a District Mineral Foundation Fund which will be under the administration. Coal companies are to give 26 per cent of their profits to the Fund. Companies mining other major minerals are to pay only the equivalent of annual royalty, which is a pittance. The earlier proposal to ensure profit sharing for all mining was shelved under pressure from the mining magnates. Now, in the name of "sharing" the benefits, the amendment could become the gateway for further liberalization to for companies to enter tribal areas and loot the wealth.

The 20th Party Congress holds that this proposal is nothing but tokenism which does not address the basic issue of the rights of tribal's to be recognized as stakeholders in the mineral wealth. The control of the use of the fund in the hands of the bureaucracy also makes a mockery of the process of consultation and consent.

The 20th Party Congress demands a complete reversal of the present policies of the Government on mineral mining.

It demands that the Government must not hand over mineral wealth of the country to private companies through leases or user rights or any other mechanism. Prospecting and mining should be undertaken only by the Government through the public sector or fully state owned enterprises after securing prior informed consent from the Gram Sabhas of communities who use these lands. The Government must also legally recognize the ownership as well as usufructuary rights of tribal's through an appropriate mechanism. It demands suitable amendments in the pending Bill to include these rights.

It calls upon party units, particularly in affected States where tribals are being displaced from land in the name of mining, to launch resistance struggles for these demands and for tribal rights.  

17. On Sri Lankan Tamil Issue

he 20th Congress of the CPI(M) expresses deep concern at the plight of the Tamil people in Sri Lanka. The Tamil people living in the Northern and Eastern provinces of Sri Lanka suffered heavy losses and casualties during the last phase of the armed conflict with LTTE. Thousands of civilians, men, women and children died during the hostilities. Lakhs of people were displaced from their homes.

Even three years after the armed conflict has come to an end, the Sri Lankan government has not undertaken fully the resettlement and rehabilitation of the people in their areas and providing them with the means of livelihood.

Despite the evidence of atrocities against the people and serious human rights violations, the Sri Lankan government has not taken any serious measures to investigate such crimes and to fix responsibility. Even the recommendations of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission set up by the government have not been implemented.

The Tamil people can live with dignity and equal rights within a united Sri Lanka only when there is a political settlement based on the provision of autonomy and devolution of powers for the Tamil-speaking areas. Here again, despite assurances given by the Rajapakse government, so far, no meaningful steps have been taken. Instead of arriving at a settlement through direct talks, the matter has been referred to a Parliamentary Select Committee.

The CPI (M) stands for a united Sri Lanka in which the Tamil minorities can live in peace and harmony with the majority Sinhala community. The Party appeals to all democratic forces in Sri Lanka to ensure a political solution to the Tamil question.

The Congress urges the Indian government to make all necessary political and diplomatic efforts to see that:

• The full rehabilitation and resettlement of the Tamil people is expeditiously undertaken
• The Sri Lankan government conducts an independent and credible enquiry into the human rights violations and to establish accountability
• A political settlement is reached based on devolution of powers to the Northern and Eastern Provinces

Resolutions Passed at the 20th Party Congress of CPIM

9. P. Sundarayya Zindabad Observe P. Sundarayya Birth Centenary

May 1, 2012 marks the birth centenary of the revolutionary Communist leader, Comrade Putchalapalli Sundarayya. P. Sundarayya is one of the major figures of the Indian Communist movement who was drawn into the social reform movement and the freedom struggle at a young age.

Attracted to the Communist Party through Comrade Amir Hyder Khan, Sundarayya played a key role in building the Communist movement in south India during the 1930s.

Comrade Sundarayya established the first union of agricultural workers. He was the Secretary of the Andhra Communist Party Committee which was formed in 1934. He played an important role in leading the Telangana armed struggle. That struggle paved the way for the liberation of people from the feudal yoke of the Nizam rule.

P. Sundarayya became a member of the first Central Committee of the Communist Party. From then onwards, he played a pioneering role in building the Communist Party.

Comrade Sundarayya made a big contribution to the approach of the Communist Party on the agrarian revolution. He made a detailed study of the agrarian sector and helped to formulate tactics to build the peasant movement.

As a committed Marxist-Leninist, he applied the theory to Indian conditions to build the revolutionary movement. When revisionist and ultra Left trends came to the fore, he fought them and safeguarded the correct Marxist-Leninist line.

Sundarayya became the General Secretary of the CPI (M) from its inception in 1964 and played a major role in establishing the Party as a leading force in the Left movement in the country.

As a Member of Parliament and state legislature, Sundarayya set an example of how to take up people's issues.

Comrade Sundarayya reared successive generations of cadres and inspired them by his life and example. He donated his whole property to the Party and lived a simple and exemplary life.

The life and work of Comrade Sundarayya is that of a builder of a Communist movement, a relentless fighter for the emancipation of the exploited classes and the embodiment of a revolutionary with Marxist-Leninist commitment. The birth centenary of such a great revolutionary should be commemorated by the Party and all Left and progressive circles.

The 20th Congress calls for a year-long observance of the birth centenary of Comrade P Sundarayya from May 1, 2012. It authorizes the new Central Committee to chalk out the programmes regarding the observance.  

10. Resolution on Palestine

This 20th Congress of the CPI (M) condemns Israel's continuing occupation of Palestinian territories in complete violation of international law and many United Nations resolutions. The brutal siege of Gaza, arbitrary arrests and the detention of thousands of Palestinians in West Bank and Israel without trials, targeted assassinations etc. show Israel's total contempt for international law. The Zionist government has been fully backed and supported by the US government in all its illegal actions. Indeed, the utter duplicity of the US was seen in its opposition to the recognition of Palestine as a full-fledged member of the United Nations although such a demand has widespread support.

The West Bank has been broken up into small cantons, separated from each other by settler-only roads and numerous checkpoints. The Occupation is tightening its grip on Jerusalem, demolishing Palestinian houses, enlarging Israeli settlements thereby seeking to change the demography of Jerusalem. The "peace process" is now virtually dead, with Israel continuing to expand its settlements in Palestinian territories.

The Indian people have always supported the Palestinian cause and opposed the illegal occupation of Palestine. India was among the first non-Arab nations to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people in 1974, and was the first non-Arab country to recognize Palestine as an independent state in 1988. India has always opposed the continued illegal occupation of West Bank and Gaza.

While this remains the official position of the Government of India, first under the BJP-led NDA Government and subsequently the two UPA Governments, India has also built close security and military ties with Israel. India is now the largest buyer of arms from Israel and buys more than even the Israeli armed forces. India's launching Israeli spy satellites and joint research with Israel on missiles and drones must be seen against the background of the targeted assassinations that Israel routinely carries out using such drones and spy satellites. All this makes India complicit in Israel's occupation of Palestine, in contradiction to its avowed policy of support to the Palestinian cause. It also damages India's relations with other countries in the region.

The 20th Congress demands the following:

• The end to the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine and all other occupied territories
• The immediate lifting of the inhuman siege of Gaza
• The Right of Return for all Palestinians
• The dismantling of the Apartheid Wall and all illegal settlements on the West Bank.
• Israel to stop its brutal denial of basic democratic rights to its Arab population.
• The release of all Palestinian political prisoners

The 20th Congress calls upon the Indian Government to return to its position of genuine support to the Palestinian cause, and break its military and security ties with Israel. The 20th Congress gives a clarion call for building a strong anti-imperialist movement in support of the Palestinian people. 

11. Planning Commission's Poverty Estimates – Fraud on the Poor

The 20th Congress of CPI (M) considers the recent manipulations of the Planning Commission of the poverty estimates are deliberate efforts to underestimate the level of poverty in the country. It has chosen Rs. 22.40 per day for an adult in rural areas and Rs. 28.65 per day for an adult in urban areas, in 2009-10 as the poverty line. Anyone spending more than that is being categorized as non-poor. These are extraordinarily low amounts and no Indian can fulfill even a part of his/her basic daily requirements with these amounts. Rather than poverty lines, they should be called destitute lines. To use such absurd cut-offs to estimate the poor in India is nothing but a cruel joke on their conditions of life and work.

In order to arrive at these absurdly low figures, the Planning Commission has reduced the per capita calorie norms required for an average Indian from 2400 calories per person per day in rural areas and 2100 per person per day in urban areas to 1770 calories per person per day. This it was lower than the minimum set by the 15th Labour Conference (1957) of 2700 calorie. Now Planning Commission cites that FAO had recommended 1770 calories as the amount of energy required for light or sedentary activity. Such a definition cannot be taken as the calorie requirement of the poor in India, who are primarily engaged in heavy manual work.

On the basis of the new calculations the Planning Commission has claimed that the proportion of BPL persons has gone down by 7 per cent between 2004-05 and 2009-10. Given the enormity and acuteness of mass poverty in India, even a slight change in the poverty line can result in significantly different conclusions regarding the number of poor. There is little to differentiate between people just above the poverty line and those below the poverty line.

The Planning Commission has under taken this fraudulent exercise to reduce the number of poor eligible in various poverty alleviation programmes. This is part of the neo liberal fiscal strategy to squeeze public expenditure and contain budget deficits. It also is an ingenious effort to camouflage the growing process of immiserisation in India and create an impression that liberalisation has succeeded in reducing poverty.

The identification of BPL households, whose maximum numbers are already determined, has been carried out through BPL surveys, which are notorious for manipulation by the vested interests. As a result, crores of people deprived of the minimum basic needs in their daily life have been wrongly classified as APL across India. A large section of the poor in India are denied access to subsidised food purchase under the PDS, health insurance schemes, accident insurance schemes, housing schemes, pension schemes and self-employment programmes. Their ability to lead a dignified life is permanently disabled by this erroneous policy.

The 20th Congress of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) demands that the government reject the poverty estimates of the Planning Commission. The 20th Congress demands delinking of Planning Commission's poverty estimates to allocations and benefits of government social sector schemes. The 20th Congress reiterates the demand for universal PDS, health, education and social security pensions.  

12. For Implementation of the Ranganath Mishra Commission Report

The 20th Congress of the CPI (M) protests against the deliberate delay on the part of the Central Government to initiate steps for the implementation of the Ranganath Mishra Commission report. While there are several positive recommendations for the advance of the status of minorities, this Party Congress draws attention specifically to two of the recommendations.

The first is for reservation of jobs for Muslims on grounds of the social and economic backwardness of the vast majority of the community. It has recommended 10% of reservation in jobs and education for backward sections of the Muslim minority and 5% for other minorities. This will require a law to end the present limitation of 50 per cent on the total reservations arbitrarily imposed by the Supreme Court.

The recommendation for reservations comes in the background of the Sachar Committee report which painted a graphic picture of the discriminations that Muslims face particularly in the field of employment. Although there were several weaknesses in the report regarding Statewise details, as for example it's non- recognition of land distribution to Muslims in West Bengal as part of the land reform measures etc. or employment of Muslims as teachers in Madrassas and other educational institutions at Government salaries, it does not detract from its overall assessment that the Muslim minorities in general have faced injustice in employment in Government and public sector and the police forces, even more than SCs and STs who have constitutional protection. There is thus an urgency to take specific measures to redress this injustice to Muslim communities. This is a democratic and secular demand.

This Congress notes that instead of discussing the report in Parliament and building a democratic consensus, the Congress party tried to utilize the issue of reservations for minorities as a poll gimmick in the recently held UP elections. By doing so it gave a handle to the communal forces on the one hand and caused confusion among other social sections on the other. In spite of consistent demands from the Left parties and others it has continuously refused to clarify the Central Government's position on the recommendations. This shows its non-seriousness on the issue.

This Party Congress notes that it is only the then Left front Government in West Bengal which implemented the recommendations by reserving 10 per cent of the jobs for the socially and economically backward sections of the Muslim minority.

The second significant recommendation of the Commission is to include Muslim and Christian dalits in the Scheduled Caste lists. The 1950 Presidential Order and the further amendments to it were discriminatory against Scheduled Castes who had converted to either Islam or Christianity while recognizing the rights of those who had converted to Buddhism or Sikhism. The Ranganath Mishra Commission has sought to make it religion neutral and recommended the amendment to the Order to end this injustice.

The 20th Party Congress condemns the communal campaign of the RSS-BJP combine against this legitimate right of the minorities for reservation in jobs and education and against the legitimate claims of dalit Muslims and Christians.

It demands that the Central Government, without any further delay, accept the recommendation for 10 per cent reservation for Muslims and additional reservation for other minorities in employment and education. The necessary mechanisms including legislation and/ or constitutional amendment to make this possible must be worked out and brought in the next session of Parliament.

It also demands inclusion of Dalit Christians and Muslims in the SC list. The percentage of reservation for SCs must be suitably increased to include these sections.

The 20th Party Congress calls on all Party units to actively champion the cause of the minorities against discrimination and for equal citizen rights for employment and education as recommended by the Ranganath Mishra Commission.