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In
The Red
Far
from flattering, a round of introspection leaves the Kerala CPI(M) shattered.
Worse, the path for recovery remains unclear, writes INDIA TODAY's principal
Correspondent M.G. Radhakrishnan.
Soul-searching
can be a very painful task. At least that's what the CPI(M) discovered
to its dismay recently. Reviewing the humiliating defeat of the Left Democratic
Front (LDF) in Kerala in the May assembly elections, it found that the
party had remained stagnant in the past four decades. Worse, an 11 page-report
adopted by the central committee in August and by the state committee
more recently warns that it would be hard to sustain what's left of the
party's strength unless remedial measures are initiated immediately. It
notes that the 5 per cent votes the United Democratic Front (UDF) captured
were markedly higher than the usual difference of 1 or 2 per cent between
the two fronts.
"It is a frank exercise in introspection. There are immediate tasks
to be done," admits CPI(M) General Secretary H.K. Surjeet, who along
with Politburo member Prakash Karat flew down to Thiruvananthapuram to
attend the state committee meeting recently to undertake the review. In
fact, it took some time before the review report could be finalised. The
original analysis made by the party 's state committee in Kerala in July
was outright rejected by the central committee. Reason: it had almost
completely spared the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and pinned
all the blame for the defeat on the "ganging up of communal and casteist"
parties in favour of the United Democratic Front (UDF) which emerged the
winner.
The original report by the state committee had attracted much flak even
from the party's lower committees. What had drawn especial attention was
the report's thundering silence on the lacklustre performance of the government.
For instance, the lower committees wanted to know why no mention was made
about the government's financial bungling even during election time. It
is believed that government cheques issued even for paltry sums bounced
since the exchequer was empty. The central committee subsequently sent
back the report to the state panel which reworked it, incorporating critical
remarks against the government.
The final report has taken Finance Minister T. Sivadasa Menon of the CPI(M)
and the party to task for alleged financial irregularities. "It cannot
be said that the finance minister has discharged his responsibility with
sufficient care and attention as he ought to have done," it observed.
"It was his responsibility to bring the seriousness before the state
secretariat and the state committee. It is strange that the sate committee
was not equipped to face such a serious situation.The state secretariat
should have shown sufficient vigilance on such maters."
The observations made on the general state of the party were equally significant.
"What is most important is the stagnation of the individual strength
of the party in the past four decades," the report noted. "The
undivided communist party polled about 40 per cent votes in 1960. The
strength has more or less remained the same until now. Also, it was found
that though the party membership had grown from 2,93,141 to 3,01,550,
there was a 10 per cent dropout among full- time members besides an erosion
in mass base.
Among other thing, all this has lent credibiltiy to the UDF's charges
about the ostentatious ways of the CPI(M). According to Chief Minister
A.K. Antony, the CPI(M) had managed to become the "richest organisation"
in the country during the past five years in power. "While the people
starved, the CPI(M) was flaunting its newly acquired riches with impunity,"
he says, pointing to indices like the CPI(M)'s satellite television channel,
its multi-storey apartment complex for party leaders, the luxurious academi
in memory of the late E.M.S. Namboodiripad and the numerous amusement
parks it had set up.
The review report too touches upon the issue. The lifestyle of many comrades,
it says, were "similar to bourgeois political leaders" and cautions
that the distinction between communists and others was increasingly getting
blurred in the public mind. Some names were even singled out with charges
of accummulating wealth disproportionate to the known sources of income.
It also alleged that some comrades were in the habit of collecting funds
from "tainted businessmen". While such charges abound, there
is no suggestion on how to tackle the situation. Perhaps the shocking
self-discovery will take time to sink in before any remedial action can
be thought of.
Damning
Report
Among other things, the CPI(M) state committee observed that:
*CPI(M)'s strength has remained stagnant for four decades
*Difficult to sustain even the present strength
*Heavy erosion in party's mass base
*Increase in party membership has no relation or relevance to the strength
of the party
*High levels of inactive or ineligible membership
On the performance in the last elections
*Present vote differences between the fronts unusually high
*Party failed to assess mass mood.
*Sections of traditional supporters -kisans, workers, middle class
employees left the party.
*CPI(M)'s failure to politically educate masses led to growth in casteism.
*Failed to win over minorities.
*Failed to make effective criticism against the Muslim league.
*Confusion created by leaders who gave different versions about the alliance
with Indian National League.
*Last government' financial management poor.
*Finance Minister did not discharge his responsibilities well
*Interests of poorer sections forgotten.
*State Committee was not equipped to face the serious financial situation.
*State Secretariat was not vigilant
*Party failed to review the performance of government and ministers.
*Hastily implemented liquor policy changes alienated a section of
traditional voters.
*Damage inflicted by factionalism not yet healed and factional trends
not eradicated.
*Leakage of the discussions in the party bodies to the media
*Party leaders instead of discussing within the party air differences
outside.
*Lifestyles of certain comrades similar to bourgeois leaders
*Assets of certain comrades disproportionate to their income.
*Criticism that certain comrades collect funds from tainted businessmen.
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