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Journalism of Courage
Ahead of its 24th party congress, to be held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, from April 2 to 6, CPI(M) interim leader Prakash Karat speaks to The Indian Express about the party’s hits and misses over the recent past. He also sheds light on the INDIA bloc, the party’s changing stand on issues over time, and the CPI(M)’s plan for reviving its electoral fortunes, among other things. Excerpts:
Prakash Karat: The focus of the party congress will be addressing the question of how we can increase the independent strength of the CPI(M), its political influence and expansion of its mass space… Our independent strength has not grown sufficiently and some reasons and factors for the same have been identified. The discussions and decisions will prove fruitful for our party’s advance.
Prakash Karat: It is complicated, in the sense that our party believes that we do not build it through elections but by working among the people, hearing their problems, launching struggles and conducting movements. We have been doing that but are failing to politicise the people coming to us. The party, trade unions or various organisations successfully bring them into the struggle but fail to consolidate this into political influence. The political work is left undone.
Similarly, there are other reasons. There are many socio-economic changes. Particularly in rural areas, the character of those we considered class enemies and opponents have changed. We failed to properly understand these new classes and new forms of capitalist exploitation in the countryside. We need to understand which groups or classes are affected by this and work amongst them.
Prakash Karat: Even the type of work matters. For instance, we talk about fighting the BJP, RSS and Hindutva forces. But how exactly have they grown? So, like in most parties, we speak about organising and fighting the electoral battle only at the time of elections. We feel electoral battles should be the end result of other work.
The RSS works in the cultural and social spheres, and many areas. Where are we? Are we doing similar work? Similar means not what they do, but to counter them.
To give an example, there is one sentence that we must work among believers and make them understand that we are not fighting their religious beliefs but are against those using the religious beliefs for politics. In this regard, the directions given in the last party congress were correct but we failed to implement them, not because we do not intend to but we have not been able to properly work out how to do it.
Prakash Karat: There is an increase in religiosity in society. Over the last 20-30 years, I have seen it happen much more than before. You cannot ignore it now. How do you bring in your political and ideological appeal within the religiosity? By connecting with those who are increasingly religious.
Prakash Karat: A large number of CPI(M) members are believers. Our party constitution has no provision which says you have to be an atheist. Some Communist parties had it earlier, but they too have dropped it.
If believers in the party work among the people and take up their issues, the people will respect them irrespective of them belonging to a party which doesn’t believe in religion. What we are discussing is that party members should reach out to believers and convince them about the difference between their religious faith and the efforts to misuse that faith for political purposes.
Prakash Karat: It has been nine months since the Lok Sabha elections and there has been no meeting of the INDIA bloc. We have to understand that the impetus of forming the INDIA bloc was the Lok Sabha elections where it saw partial success in preventing the BJP from getting a majority.
Post the Lok Sabha polls, there has been no understanding of what is to be done. Our party feels a broad platform for all secular Opposition parties is needed and how this platform is taken forward after elections needs to be worked out.
We spoke of the INDIA bloc only at the national level and did not speak of replicating it in states. We should not get into it too as it is not possible. To expect the AAP and Congress to fight together in Delhi, us and the TMC to put up a united front in West Bengal or to contest the polls with the Congress in Kerala is not possible. There needs to be a broader conception.
Prakash Karat: The Congress is the largest Opposition party. I am sure everybody will agree to attend a meeting if they call one.
Prakash Karat: For us, the word alliance has much wider implications. It is not just an electoral understanding or seat-sharing. An alliance would mean having a programmatic basis. That is not practical for us with the Congress as we have differences on various issues and economic policies.
Prakash Karat: There are two things. One is that we used the term neo-fascist for the first time in our political documents… and hence an explanatory note was attached to the draft political resolution. The note explains how neo-fascist forces are raising their heads not only in India but globally and the necessity to demarcate them from classical fascism.
The second explanation is that we have been talking about fascism earlier also but have never called the government or state fascist. That remains. At our Hyderabad Congress, we spoke of emerging fascistic trends and seven years later, they (government) are already displaying the characteristics. Hence, the note explains that if we do not stop, halt and reverse it, we will head towards fascism.
Not yet. There is a difference in our assessment and some other Left parties. They said earlier too that Indian fascism has arrived… If full-fledged fascism has come, then the whole approach and tactics will differ. After all, even with the limited unity of secular Opposition parties, we were able to prevent the BJP from getting a majority…
Prakash Karat: The CPI(M) has been opposed to privatisation, but it has been happening and growing. Currently, it is not in our hands to check it. Maybe if we were in power at the Centre, we would have done something.
Education is heavily privatised in many states. Kerala has been against this trend and is strengthening its public education system. We have even been able to manage the outflow of students into private schools and retaining enrolments in government ones.
Our resources in higher education are limited and we cannot expand it in a big way. More attention is being paid to try and upgrade existing colleges and the university system. But what is happening? A big chunk of students from Kerala go to other states. Some even go abroad for higher education and a big number of these go to private universities. There are many private universities in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka – the two neighbouring states. Many students are going there saying they do not get facilities here. So, we decided we should allow private universities in Kerala hoping that more students from the state can go there.
Secondly, there is a degree of regulation. For instance, the Bill mandates 40% of the intake to be students from Kerala, reservation for SC/ST students and (the provision of) student councils or unions.
Prakash Karat: No. It is like trying to stop the tide for a long time and then getting overwhelmed by it. We cannot do it alone in Kerala, the realisation.
Prakash Karat: It has taken Kerala a long time to realise this, unlike in West Bengal, where we came to this conclusion much earlier. Kerala has a record of turning around many loss-making PSUs but some of them are irretrievable. Just keeping them running and paying salaries is a drain on the exchequer. For such enterprises, we are trying to include private participation… We are hoping some private parties will take responsibility. It is a very limited thing.
Prakash Karat: Nothing is given but we have not discussed this yet. After reviewing all the organisational and political work at the state conference in Kollam recently, we are confident that we can bid for a third term in office. We can go to the people with our record. The Nava Kerala document shows that we are thinking with a long-term perspective and not about short-term gains.
He is there as he is the CM. You cannot not have the CM in the CPI(M) State Secretariat. The age limit applies in Kerala too.
Prakash Karat: I do not think so. We have a pool of leaders at the central level who are capable, have experience, talent and ability. Maybe they are not known nationally. Our leadership is renewed on the basis of continuity and change. There needs to be a balance, but if there is a serious imbalance, we can make some exemptions after discussions and coming to a collective understanding.
Prakash Karat: We may step down from party positions but we will not retire from the party or politics. According to our talent and experience, I am sure the party will give us some work to do.
Prakash Karat: We have a pool of leaders with various types of people, from whom we select… We will choose the optimum possible.
