(This statement was issued by the Central Committee of CPI(ML)-New Democracy on November 2, 2013)
All India Party Congress (2013) of Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)-New Democracy was held successfully in Com. Pyla Vasudev Rao Nagar. Delegate sessions of the Congress were conducted in Com. Paltu Sen Hall. Delegates representing Party work in twelve states participated in the Congress with great enthusiasm. Congress deliberations were marked by high level of understanding backed by long participation in building and conducting the revolutionary struggles and great optimism in the success of New Democratic Revolution in the country and Party’s due role in making it victorious. Party Congress in particular focused on expanding and developing areas of sustained resistance and dealt with problems encountered in this course.
Party Congress began its proceedings by paying homage to martyrs belonging to the Party and other communist revolutionary organizations, those who have fallen in attacks by landlords, Mafia and state forces, Party leaders who have died in the period since last Party Congress, martyrs of anti-displacement movements and those who died fighting imperialism and reaction in different parts of the world.
Party Congress analyzed present national and international situation and formulated Party’s immediate tasks. International situation has undergone significant change. Struggle of the people against aggression by imperialist countries, against reactionaries backed by imperialists in their countries and also workers’ struggle particularly in developed capitalist countries are intensifying. Party Congress assessed that International situation though complex is growing favourable for growth and development of revolutionary movements and peoples’ struggles in the world.
International situation is marked by deepening economic crisis of imperialism leading to increasing attacks on the workers in different countries, attempts by imperialist countries to seize natural resources and wage wars for that leading to intensification of the contradiction among them. Owing to the national struggles of people of Iraq and Afghanistan and other countries against US led military aggression and occupation and explosion of world financial-economic crisis from 2008, US imperialism’s drive for securing world hegemony has stalled. It is no longer in a position to wage wars unilaterally and to impose war and settle the question of peace in the world alone. Therefore, Party Congress concluded that unipolar world brought about by the collapse of the Soviet Union and disintegration of the camp led by it, has come to an end and the world has become multipolar. Recent developments in Syria have vindicated this position.
Party Congress also discussed development of China where capitalism had been restored decades back. With China exporting capital to many third world countries, developing zones of investment there, contending with other imperialist powers for control over backward countries and their natural resources, it has developed into a social-imperialist country.
Party Congress expressed its support and solidarity with revolutionary communist movement against imperialism and reaction, with national struggles against aggressions and subversions by imperialist powers, particularly US imperialism, with workers struggles against attempts to shift the burden of the deepening economic crisis onto them and their worsening conditions.
Party Congress concluded that US imperialism continues to be the main target of world people’s struggles. Party Congress resolved to build movements against imperialist wars and aggressions with forces opposed to imperialist aggressions.
Party Congress discussed in depth situation obtaining in the country. Economic crisis is deepening as exemplified by declining rate of growth, rising fiscal deficit, rising current account deficit, declining value of the currency, runaway inflation and worsening condition of the overwhelming majority of the people. Ruling classes’ subservience to imperialism, their policies serving the interests of corporate and landlord classes are at the root of the deepening crisis. New economic policies ushered in at the dictates of imperialist powers and financial institutions controlled by them have benefited only a small section while plunging large population into increasing poverty, destitution and unemployment. All indices of social health are low, with India having largest number of hungry, sufferers of preventable diseases, sufferers of anemia and malnutrition. Political crisis continues as shown by growing political instability and conflicts within organs of power of the state. Party Congress like the earlier one, characterized this situation as of growing political instability with policy consensus among ruling class parties. Revolutionary situation is growing favourable for the revolutionary movement though in semifeudal semicolonial India it is unevenly developed in different parts of the country.
At the root of the economic crisis is agrarian-industrial crisis. Agriculture remains stagnant with land continuing to be concentrated in the hands of a few with top 5% owning 44% of the land and bottom 60% owning practically little, less than 10% of the lands. Employment of capitalist methods to absorb the inputs of the MNCs, have only led to declining rate of growth, increasing pollution of soil, depleting water table and increasing indebtedness of the peasantry while agriculture in the vast areas continues to be carried on by backward means. Employment of rural poor is declining. While Food Security Bill, mostly a repackaging of existing schemes, admits 75% of the rural poor being hungry, MNREGS has been mired with low wages and high corruption. On the other hand, industry is frequently suffering negative growth rate with manufacturing sector being hardest hit. Service sector contributing 56% of the GDP is slowing, hit by declining demand in western imperialist countries. Workers and peasants are suffering from attempts to further squeeze them, with no attempts to implement labour laws and further contractualization of labour, and rising cost of inputs and lack of corresponding increase in the prices of produce in agriculture.
Party Congress welcomed the upswing in the movement of tribals and other peasants against forcible displacement expressing its full solidarity and support to these struggles. These struggles have posed a concrete challenge to the attempts of the ruling classes to further implementation of new economic policies and to sell the natural resources of the country at throwaway prices. We firmly oppose forcible acquisition of land, diversion of agricultural land for industrial purposes and any land for MNCs. The new Land Acquisition law is only an attempt to smoothen land acquisition. Party Congress demanded scrapping of Polavarum project which is aimed mainly to provide water to corporate.
While increasing unemployment is hitting the youth with fewer opportunities of employment, education is subject to increasing attempts at opening it to imperialist countries, changing its pattern to suit their entry, high cost of higher education adversely affecting girls, dalits, backwards and minorities. Ruling classes are facilitating propagation of decadent culture from imperialist countries while preserving anti-women and anti-dalit aspects of the feudal culture.
Condemning increasing attacks on women, particularly on dalit and poor women, Party Congress welcomed recent upswing in the struggle of women and youth against attacks on women. Party Congress also vowed to intensify its efforts to fight caste oppression and attacks on dalits.
Party Congress also noted that higher judiciary has emerged as one of the main player in implementation of new economic policies. While it acted on the concerns of upper and middle classes, it showed utter disdain in cases of lower classes as shown in acquittal in several cases of massacres of landless poor peasants in Bihar.
Party Congress also expressed its concern at attacks on minorities, particularly Muslims, on their lives and property. In the context of coming elections in 2014, there is an attempt to unleash communal violence by RSS-BJP combine to come to power. Their projection of Modi and his Gujarat model is combination of majority communalism and all out service of corporate interests. Party Congress decided that we should wage a determined struggle against all forms of communalism, taking Hindu communalism as the main at present and exposing Hindutva.
Party Congress condemned the increasing attacks on democratic rights of the people of which communist revolutionaries are the main target, enactment of black laws like UAPA, strengthening the paramilitary and police forces in numbers and deadly weaponry, deployment of huge number of paramilitary personnel in Chhatisgarh and elsewhere against communist revolutionaries, particularly CPI(Maoist), operation Green Hunt & other forms of war on people.
Party Congress condemned the Govt. attack on struggles of Kashmiri people for right to self-determination and expresses solidarity with their struggle.
Party Congress demanded immediate tabling of Bill in Parliament for creation of Telengana and condemns the ruling class parties trying to create hatred among Telugu people. Party Congress also supported the demand for Gorkhaland considering these demands as democratic demands.
Party Congress resolved to intensify struggles of peasants, workers, women, dalits, tribals, youth and students. Among all the struggles, Party Congress held that building and developing resistance movement is the principal task of the Party. Without building resistance movement, Party cannot play a significant role in guiding the struggles of the people in the direction of revolutionary movement. Party Congress instructed the new Central Committee to devote its full energy to advance this task.
As an organizational preparation for this struggle, Party Congress discussed in depth a proposal to build a strong party of a particular type necessary to fulfill its principal task and approved the same. Party Congress directed all Party committees to follow the approach outlined in the document and directions issued in pursuance to it.
About the various alien trends in the Party and communist revolutionary movement, Party Congress called upon all Party ranks to fight right and ‘left’ deviations taking right deviation as the main danger at present. Party Congress approved a special document calling for intensifying struggle against revisionism and right deviation.
All India Party Congress reviewed the Party activities over the last nine years. Delegates offered their frank and constructive views, appreciated what was done well by the erstwhile Central Committee and pointed out what they considered were the deficiencies. There was penetrative discussion on what were the causes of these deficiencies.
All India Party Congress decided that new CC should set up separate State Committees for Party work in Telengana and Andhra Pradesh.
Party Congress having heard a report on the splittist and disruptive activities of Coms. Chandram, Tanya and SV in Andhra Pradesh, their setting up parallel Party and mass organizations there and also CC’s patient pursuance of these members of erstwhile CC to stop and withdraw splittist activities in Andhra Pradesh and their refusal to follow CC decisions in this regard, expelled Coms. Chandram, Tanya and SV from the Party.
All India Party Congress elected a Central Committee to lead and guide the Party’s work. New Central Committee elected Com. Yatendra Kumar as the General Secretary of the Party. The concluding session outlined the Party’s tasks in the immediate future and called upon all Party committees and ranks to gear up to unleash the revolutionary struggles and help the CC fulfill the tasks decided by the Party Congress. Party Congress closed with rendering of Internationale in which all delegates participated.
