Waiting for George Bush

CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat8217;s lead article in the special Republic Day number of People8217;s Democracy says good things about...

CPM General Secretary Prakash Karat8217;s lead article in the special Republic Day number of People8217;s Democracy says good things about the Constitution, parliamentary democracy and mass participation, though with typically Left disclaimers. However, the UPA government does not get off easily and is accused of 8220;conforming to the ruling class position that being a strategic ally of the United States is the way forward8221;. In fact, he clubs the NDA with the UPA for becoming part of the 8220;US global enterprise8221;.

But, the article generally reiterates the CPM8217;s positions on key issues 8212; economic policy, role of the judiciary and communalism. To party cadres he says that the recent campaigns have been part of the recent all-round movements to compel the UPA to take up pro-people measures. For the record, Karat promises a feisty 8220;Bush go back8221; campaign by the Left during President George W. Bush8217;s upcoming visit 8220;to assert that the Indian people will not allow their destiny to be determined by imperialism8221;.

Back to the basics

Two CPM veterans, former party General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet and former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu, write from experience on the state of the Republic. Surjeet writes about the importance of land reforms and how the inability to persist with it is responsible for the continuation of 8220;three most serious evils plaguing our society8221; 8212; child labour, beggary and prostitution.

Basu tracks the Left8217;s growth in West Bengal and how the party is planning ahead. Industrialisation is about the 8220;sunrise industries8221; like information technology, food processing and electronics, which, he says, will generate high employment in downstream units. But, he says, it has been an uphill task. Once, he says, he talked to then prime minister Indira Gandhi about investment in electronics in the state but was later told she had been advised by her officials that West Bengal was close to the border. He protested that the security threat came from Pakistan, not Bangladesh, yet the prime minister decided that the electronics complex should come up in northern India.

Basu is less caustic about the present UPA government even though he clarifies that support to it by the Left is not unconditional. The CPM leader, who had pressed the Left to resume the UPA-Left coordination meetings after they had walked out on the BHEL issue, suggests that outstanding issues should rather be sorted out by sitting across the table. That advice appears to have gone abegging, as the Left plans a series of protests against the Central government.

It all adds up

The Republic Day special number of People8217;s Democracy, published in magazine format, certainly looks grand. It also shows the CPM8217;s clout with PSUs. Most advertisements and messages for the special issue have come from employees8217; unions and state and Central PSUs. Not surprisingly, the Airports Authority of India AAI has put in a full page advertisement 8212; the CPM wanted the AAI8217;s proposal for the modernisation of airports to be accepted. There are a handful of private company advertisements too, from a player in infrastructure to others selling spices and jewellery.

Compiled by Ananda Majumdar