23rd CPI Party Congress Begins With Call To Oust BJP Govt 

Kollam: The CPI today welcomed the CPI(M)'s stand to have an understanding with the Congress to oust the BJP-led government at the Centre and said the latter's resolution has brought the left parties' political approach "nearer." Addressing the 23rd CPI party Congress here today, General Secretary S Sudhakar Reddy said the CPI(M)'s tactical line would help strengthen the unity between the two communist parties and also further the left unity to take on the "communal fascism" of the RSS-BJP.

Calling for a broader Left unity, Reddy said, "I would like to assure that the CPI and the CPI(M), with all other Left parties, certainly will strengthen the left unity further to defeat BJP." The CPI for the past one year has been discussing these issues as fascism is at the 'door step.' "We need a broader or much broader, secular, democratic left unity to take on it (RSS-BJP)," Reddy said. The Left parties would fight unitedly the fascist tendencies of the BJP, he added.

Speaking on the occasion, CPI-M General Secretary Sitaram Yechury said the main task was to defeat the BJP and its allies by aligning with all secular and democratic forces. Referring to the party's political resolution, adopted at the 22nd Party Congress held at Hyderabad on April 22, Yechury said the challenge posed by BJP has to be faced by not having any political alliance with the Congress party.

However, there can be an understanding with all secular parties including the Congress, said Yechury, who had proposed such a tactical line in the party, which was later adopted in the CPI(M) Congress though there was some resistance to it earlier.

The secular Opposition parties should cooperate for a broad mobilisation of people against communalism, Yechury said. We should foster a joint action of class and mass organisations to attract all sections of people into the struggle, he said. In order to achieve the objective of ousting the BJP government, CPI(M)'s 22nd Congress had decided that appropriate electoral tactics to maximise the pooling of anti-BJP votes should be adopted, Yechury added.

The CPI's 23rd party Congress would take up for discussion the draft political resolution which has declared dislodging of the "RSS-controlled BJP government as its main slogan." The draft resolution also said the political parties would be free to draw their own electoral tactics as and when elections are announced, but launch of a mass resistance against fascism cannot be delayed any more.

The resolution also attacked the NDA government headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and alleged that "with RSS in real control, the threat is much more serious. It (RSS) has already penetrated almost all key sectors and organs of the government." The four-day meet would conclude on April 29 with the election of the new national council and general secretary. A massive volunteer march is also scheduled to be held on the final day. (PTI)