Partner CPM loses bite, retires as policy watchdog

Eleven months after it decided to support the UPA government, the CPI(M) has begun acknowledging a gradual but significant change in the UPA...

Eleven months after it decided to support the UPA government, the CPI(M) has begun acknowledging a gradual but significant change in the UPA-Left relationship.

The largest Left party is no longer talking in terms of ‘‘being in a position to influence UPA economic policies’’. It’s now only claiming to be a ‘‘watchdog’’, which can at best raise its voice every time the UPA moves too far away from the interests of the ‘‘aam aadmi’’.

The Talkatora stadium, rechristened E.K. Nayanar Nagar by the CPI(M) for the 18th party congress, was literally painted red when the inaugural session, presided over by 91-year-old Jyoti Basu, got underway this morning. With foreign delegates from 27 countries and 800 comrades watching from the galleries, it was a colourful opening ceremony, complete with songs from the people’s theatre movement of the late 1940s. In many ways, it was a celebration of the party’s best-ever performance in the last Lok Sabha elections and a pledge to tap the Hindi heartland.

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But party general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s speech revealed the dichotomy of Left politics at this juncture.

The speech, read out by Surjeet’s probable successor Prakash Karat, had primarily four elements—a tirade against the ‘‘imperialist US’’, the concern that BJP-RSS had not really been decimated and remained a potent force, the secular political compulsion for which the Congress-led UPA regime would continue to get Left support and a set of economic prescriptions which the UPA should not ignore.

Last May, Left leaders were eager to include their policy preferences in the CMP. They were debating every word in the programme document which took longer than usual to prepare. The problem began two months later when the Left realised that they were not being consulted before the government went ahead with crucial economic policy decisions.

The UPA-Left coordination mechanism was set up to ensure that Left enjoyed its right to be consulted before policy formulations. The mechanism never really functioned the way the Left wanted. ‘‘While we extend support to the UPA to meet the exigencies of the current situation, let me make it clear that there will be no giving up on our basic agenda. We shall act as sentinels of the people,” he said.

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The day the draft political resolution for this congress was released two months ago, it was clear the party had given up hope of trying to change the economic views of the Congress. Comrade Surjeet, therefore, argued: ‘‘The CPI(M) will continue to press for the implementation of the pro-people measures in the CMP while opposing any attempt to pursue the wrong policies of the past. The party will mobilise all sections of the working people to launch bigger and sustained movements for defence of their interests.’’

Even Jyoti Basu in his concluding remarks urged the UPA government to introspect. ‘‘The people expect the UPA government to fulfil the commitment that its policies will be for the aam aadmi.’’

WRITING IN RED

		Third Alternative The ‘Third Alternative’ was much in mention at the CPI(M) congress. The phrase featured in party general secretary Harkishen Singh Surjeet’s speech. For the record, the Third Alternative has nothing to do with the Third Front. The CPI(M) has vowed to go it alone, make the party stronger, avoid opportunistic alliances and build the party from grassroots. And then, it will provide the Third Alternative alone. Comrades world over Foreign delegates from 27 countries, all representatives of Communist parties, are attending the congress. The loudest applause, however, was reserved for members from Cuba, Vietnam and the Palestine Liberation Organisation. There are two comrades from North Korea as well. Bengal’s right for Left It was more than coincidence that most Kerala Politburo members were sitting to the left on the dais. Surjeet and Basu sat to the right where most other young Bengal comrades were seated. The interpretation doing the rounds — power in the CPI(M) is heavily tilted towards Bengal. Of course, Sitaram Yechury sat on the first row while Prakash Karat occupied a discreet seat on the second row. No mourning Pope The CPI congress in Chandigarh had stepped into a row by condoling the death of the Pope, praised in the West for doing great damage to Communism. The CPI(M) was more prudent — there was no mention of the Pope. Red TV on Marxist menu The CPI(M)-promoted Malayalam channel Kairali Television had a crew ready for live coverage of the Marxist menu. Channel representatives, however, maintained the reportage had been kept minimal and there would be no special shows. —ENS

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